An Etihad Airways Airbus A320-200 plane is seen at the National Airport Minsk, Belarus, April 19, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko / File.

The second-largest airline in the United Arab Emirates began selling tickets to Israeli passengers on Tuesday, in another step in the normalization process between the two countries.

Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Etihad Airways was conducting the sales through the Tel Aviv-based company TAL Aviation. It is offering a number of routes with destinations in countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Nissim Sagis, commercial director at TAL, said, “In recent weeks, we have witnessed an increase in demand from the Israeli market and a desire to return to flying,” referring to the drop-off in commercial aviation due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are excited to collaborate with our new partners, and offer passengers from Israel the opportunity to experience Etihad’s famous service to Abu Dhabi and additional destinations on its global flight network,” he added.

The news came a day after the first commercial flight from Israel to the UAE, carrying a delegation of top US and Israeli officials, landed in Abu Dhabi.