Following the introduction of new rules on travelers seeking to enter Israel, because of the Covid-19 virus, German airline group Lufthansa has announced that it is suspending all flights to Israel for three weeks.
The announcement covers all three airlines in the Lufthansa group (Lufthansa, Swiss, and Austrian Airlines). All their flights to Tel Aviv and Eilat are cancelled from March 8 until March 28.
The company says that the measure stems from the introduction of stricter rules on entry into Israel that will apply from March 6 and that, among other things, forbid the entry into Israel of travelers from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, which will lead to a sharp drop in demand for flights to Israel.
Lufthansa said that it saw itself obliged to make these changes for economic and operational reasons, since many passengers will not be allowed to enter Israel.
Some flights to Tel Aviv scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday have also been cancelled because the new rules also forbid aircrew from entering Israel.
Lufthansa normally offers ten daily flights to Tel Aviv and one weekly flight to Eilat.
Lufthansa also announced the cancellation of 7,100 flights within Europe from today.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 5, 2020
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