Israel is preparing for direct flights via Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates as part of its agreement to normalize relations with the UAE, Reuters reported referring to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We are currently working on enabling direct flights, over Saudi Arabia, between Tel Aviv and Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” Netanyahu told reporters, estimating flight time at “about three hours, just like to Rome”

Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel and its airspace is closed to Israeli airliners. But in 2018, Air India was allowed to start flights over Saudi Arabia on the New Delhi-Tel Aviv route.

Netanyahu said he sees “tremendous scope for bilateral tourism and gigantic scope for investment” with the UAE.

A delegation from Israel is expected to travel to the UAE within a few weeks to work out the conditions for normalizing relations.