Monday, October 9, 2023
Several international air carriers said on Sunday they had suspended flights serving Tel Aviv in light of the Hamas militant attack on Israel and were waiting for conditions to improve before resuming service.
Regulators including the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Israel’s aviation authority urged airlines to use caution in the region’s airspace, but stopped short of suspending flights.
Israel’s civil aviation authority asked airlines to “review current security and threat information” amid the conflict, and changed some air traffic routes. It noted that delays were expected and advised airlines to carry extra fuel.
The pilots’ union for American Airlines has directed its members to refuse to fly to Israel, citing the ongoing war.
Union President Ed Sicher said in an email to members that the company’s pilots should not fly to Israel until they “can be reasonably assured of the region’s safety and security.”
The email cites the most recent advisory from the US State Department, which warns that the current situation in Israel “continues to be unpredictable,” and that mortar and rocket fire can take place any time without warning, putting aircraft in danger.
Israel formally declared war Sunday as it bombarded the Gaza strip with airstrikes in retaliation for a major surprise attack by Hamas.
The US air lines normally operate direct service from major US metropolitan areas including New York, Chicago, Washington, DC and Miami.
In a statement, United said it had operated two scheduled flights to the United States from Israel late Saturday and early Sunday but that service would remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume.
Delta representatives said they were monitoring the situation to make schedule adjustments as necessary but that flights have been cancelled into this week.
However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Israel’s second international airport at Eilat, a tourist destination on the Red Sea.
And Israeli flag carrier El Al said Sunday that it was maintaining its Tel Aviv flights for now, though some flights operated by foreign partners had been cancelled.
El Al said it was operating in accordance with the instructions of the Israeli security forces, with all flights now departing only from Terminal Three at Ben Gurion.
In Athens, the foreign ministry said it was working to repatriate 149 Greek tourists from Israel, and 81 of them were due to arrive back late Sunday on an El Al flight.
After Saturday saw a list of major carriers canceling flights, Spain’s AENA airports operator told a news agency four of nine flights scheduled to Tel Aviv on Sunday had been cancelled, two from Madrid and two from Barcelona.
Another nine flights, from Tel Aviv to airports in Spain, have so far been unaffected, the operator said.
Spain’s Air Europa said it had canceled its two flights scheduled between Madrid and Tel Aviv, while Iberia Express, the low-cost arm of national carrier Iberia, went ahead with a Madrid-Tel Aviv flight after suspending two on Saturday.
Vueling, the Barcelona-based low-cost airline, said given the situation in Israel, flights to/from Tel Aviv are affected and experiencing delays.
A spokesman for Germany’s Lufthansa on Saturday cited “the current security situation” to say it was canceling all flights to and from Tel Aviv “up until and including Monday.”
Air France said it had halted Tel Aviv flights “until further notice,” and the Air France-KLM group’s low-cost carrier Transavia said it was cancelling all flights from Paris and Lyon to Tel Aviv up to and including Monday.
Italy’s flag-carrier ITA airways cancelled its flight until Sunday morning at the earliest “to protect the safety of passengers and crew,” while Polish carrier LOT scrapped its flights from the Polish capital on Saturday.
Other airlines suspending flights included Aegean, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air and Air Canada.
Several international air carriers have suspended or reined in flight services to or from Tel Aviv after a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve.
Portugal’s TAP suspended flights up until Monday and offered refunds or rescheduling at no additional cost.
Virgin Atlantic said it would continue to run some flights but that customers could rebook or request a refund until Oct. 15.
Some airlines continued to fly to Israel.
Flight tracking site listed upcoming Ben Gurion arrivals from airlines including Ryanair, flyDubai and national carrier El Al.
Israel’s airports authority said on its website Ben Gurion continued to handle arrivals and departures.
Hainan Airlines (600221.SS), the only Chinese airline to fly between China and Israel, cancelled flights between Tel Aviv and Shanghai on Monday.
It said it would continue flights linking Beijing and the southern tech hub of Shenzhen with Tel Aviv while waiving fees for cancellations before Oct. 20.
Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) cancelled its flight between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv due on Tuesday and said it would provide further updates about the next flight on Thursday.
Korean Air (003490.KS) cancelled its Monday flight between the port city of Incheon and Tel Aviv and warned future flights may be irregular.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
