NEW ISRAEL ROUTE

THE first flight on Virgin Atlantic’s new Heathrow-Ben-Gurion route touched down in Israel late last month.

A launch ceremony was held at the gate in Heathrow ahead of the flight, attended by the 300 passengers and senior Virgin officials Nick Baltas and Ofer Reinhardt.

In-flight entertainment included films with Hebrew subtitles, and announcements were made in both English and Hebrew.

The menu had been given a makeover with the help of Londonbased Israeli restaurant The Good Egg, which had created classic dishes such as shakshuka and shawarma for the route. The dishes are available for passengers in upper class and premium economy.

In preparation for the flight, crew visited the Jewish Learning Exchange at Golders Green in London to learn more about Jewish life.

The visit incorporated information on Jewish customs, kashrut, prayer and the festivals, as well as meeting Rabbis Aubrey Hersh and Benjy Morgan, who explained how to identify a shtreimel box and what to do when faced with requests to stow lulavim.

At just 2,233 miles, the route will be easily Virgin Atlantic’s shortest link to and from the UK. The eastbound flight to Tel Aviv is scheduled for just over five hours, and the inbound to Heathrow for just under six.