The attacks in Lebanon and Iran last week that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh have brought regional tensions to a new peak, and international airlines are responding accordingly. US airline United Airlines was the first to announce that it was cancelling flights to Israel until further notice, and many other airlines have followed suit.
For the time being, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport is working as normal, and Israel’s airspace remains open. The Civil Aviation Authority of Israel said in a statement "The security situation allows flights to and from Israel. Some of the foreign airlines have suspended or reduced their flights to Israel, for their own internal reasons. Travelers should take into account that their return to Israel may be delayed, and should keep in touch with the airlines and update themselves about their flights."
Airlines that have cancelled some or all of their flights to Israel:
Arkia and Israir - flights operated on leased aircraft have been cancelled. Apart from that, the airlines continue to operate according to schedule.
United Airlines - flights cancelled until further notice.
Lufthansa Group - All passenger and cargo flights to Tel Aviv will be suspended until August 8 (inclusive). The group includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings.
ITA - Italian airline ITA has officially announced that all its flights to and from Israel are cancelled until August 6, inclusive.
Air India - flights cancelled until August 8, inclusive.
Aegean - flights cancelled until August 5, inclusive.
LOT - flights cancelled until August 5, inclusive.
Wizz Air - flights cancelled until August 4, inclusive.
Iberia Express - flights cancelled until August 4, inclusive.
Vueling - flights cancelled until August 4, inclusive.
Air Europa - flights cancelled until August 4, inclusive.
Airlines flying to Israel as usual
For the time being, the Israeli airlines are continuing to operate as normal, apart from flights operated on leased aircraft.
El Al announced yesterday evening that it would reinforce its schedule of flights from Larnaca and Athens. The new flights will be offered at a uniform price ($228 from Larnaca, $283 from Athens) to passengers whose flights have been cancelled by another airline and who wish to fly one-way to Israel.
In addition, El Al subsidiary Sun D’Or, which operates some of its flights through KlasJet, will make short stops on the way to Israel to change crews at Larnaca, in order to maintain its flight schedule. El Al said that this would not apply to all Sun D’Or flights. The relevant flights will appear on the El Al website, and passengers will be notified close to the time of the flight, the airline said.
Several international airlines are continuing to operate flights to Israel, among them BlueBird Airways, Air France, British Airways, and Ryanair.
FlyDubai cancelled some night flights, but has returned to operating as scheduled. Ethiopian Airlines returned to normal operations today after cancelling flights in the past two days. Air Baltic has also returned to normal operations after cancelling flights in the past two days.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 4, 2024.
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