The news was first reported by the aviation portal Sierra5.net on Tuesday, which said that the link had been agreed between Israir Airlines and the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO).

The STO said that the link was a result of presentations to business and individuals in Israel at the IMTM tourism conference in Tel Aviv, with marketing of Slovenia as an airline destination being one of the main strategies.

"Slovenia is a recognised and increasingly popular tourist destination on that market, which this year reflected in the new air link Tel Aviv-Ljubljana being established," it added.

The scheduled link will be launched with three flights in April, and continued with two flights a week between 23 May and 13 October, the STO said.

According to Sierra5.net, the operator of the Ljubljana airport, Fraport Slovenija, is also happy with the upcoming arrival in Slovenia of Israir Airlines, which it sees as a recognition of the potential of the Slovenian market.

"We are convinced that, given the increasing number of tourists travelling between the countries, the link will be well occupied and we hope that the airline will continue with flights also in the winter schedule," the German-owned operator added.

Israir Airlines is the third largest airline in Israel, operating four Airbus A320-200 and three ATR 72-500 aircraft. It operates flights to Europe and Asia from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.