You got it right! Israel to Kochi is going to be non stop from the end of September 2019, thanks to Arkia Airlines of Israel. The flights would be operational from 27th of September 2019 and would be operational twice a week on Friday and Monday, the same flight would return the next day after a layover.
As a Kerala Tour Operator, we are so happy to hear about this news and share it with our associates. Off late there has been many travelers traveling from Israel to Kerala. On the other hand, there has been an increasing movement from Kerala to Israel as part of the Christian Pilgrimage circuit. There has been around 70800 Indian tourist arrival in Israel during 2018, and most of it is from Kerala. This is around 21 percent of growth from the existing figures of 2017.
The Christian pilgrim travelers from Kerala and India as a whole, consist mostly of the elderly upmarket community who travel in groups mostly based out of religious and church communities. However, on the other hand, the most Israel movement to Kerala include exploring tourists who would want to taste a slice of local culture, temples, cuisines, and people. It is more like an experiential travel interest.
The relationship between the Jewish community and people of the Malabar coast has been in existence since 2000 years. After the second fall of the temple of Jerusalem, Jews fled across the world and probably the Kings of the Malabar coast would have been the only kings who accepted Jews and gave them an abode in their soil. The community thrived until the 1960s, after which most of them moved back after the reformation of Israel. Even today you have a couple of Synagogues in existence, none of them are functioning religiously. A few of them are the Paradeshi Synagogue in the Jew Town at Mattancherry. The Chendamangalam and the Paravoor Synagogue some 30 Kilometers North of Kochi in Paravoor. A Synagogue at Broadway close to Marine Drive in Ernakulam.
Coming back to the topic, Arkia would be operating their recently acquired Airbus A321LR with a capacity of 220 seats. It would be a nonstop flight and would take around 7 hours. Apart from Tel Aviv to Kochi, Arkia has announced a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Goa considering the leisure movement from Israel to Goa.
On average, a one-way ticket would cost USD 250 from Tel Aviv to Kochi and around USD 300 from Tel Aviv to Dabolim (Goa). Earlier Israeli groups arrived from Tel Aviv to Mumbai by direct flights of El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. From Mumbai, travelers flew to Kochi or Goa or rest of India via domestic flights. This initiative from Arkia Airlines is very much a welcoming effort for Kerala Tourism and the Israeli Tourism Board.
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