For the first time after seven years, El Al Israel Airlines, the flag carrier of the State of Israel, touched the Philippine soil again for a “historic flight” that symbolizes the good relations between Manila and Jerusalem, Israeli Ambassador Rafael Harpaz said Wednesday.
Carrying 250 Filipino students from different agriculture universities and colleges in the Philippines, Israeli airlines flight LY063 landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 6:25 a.m.
According to the Embassy of Israel in Manila, the students completed their 11-month on-the-job training course of combined academic learning and practical work in the latest farming techniques and technologies in Israel. The program offered the students the opportunity to study at specialized agricultural academic centers and work in modern farms throughout Israel.
To date, around 5,000 Filipino students have already participated in the Agro Studies program in Israel.
Harpaz said the last time that the Israeli flag carrier flew two of its fleets to the Philippines was in November 2013 in the wake of typhoon “Yolanda's” aftermath.