Air carriers in the United States and Europe on Tuesday halted flights to Tel Aviv after warnings from governmental agencies in an effort to ensure passenger safety as turmoil in Israel and the region intensified.
US carriers Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Group and United Airlines were the first to announce cancellations, followed by flight stoppages by European carriers, including Germany’s Lufthansa and Air France. Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest carrier, also said it halted its flights through Wednesday, citing the situation on the ground.
Throughout the day, several airlines rerouted or turned back flights already headed to Israel’s financial center. The flight suspensions grabbed the attention of a global aviation community still grappling with the downing last week of a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine with nearly 300 aboard. “The carriers are making the right call,” said Robert Mann, an airline consultant in Port Washington, New York. “They are ultimately legally responsible for their operations and thus, they have to be at least as cautious and in many cases more cautious than any guideline that they are given.” The FAA said it told US carriers that they were prohibited from flying to or from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv for up to 24 hours. In a statement, the agency said its notice was issued in response to a rocket strike on Tuesday that landed about a mile from the airport.
The text of the FAA notice cited “the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza” in prohibiting the flights by US carriers. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for US airlines to resume flights to Israel. “There is no need for US carriers to suspend flights and reward terrorism,” said a statement from Israel’s Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz. The FAA notice was discussed in a call later on Tuesday between Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US State Department said.
