Avoid Rockets, British Airways To Lufthansa Cancel Flights To Israel

Illustrator/INSTAGRAM british_airways

JAKARTA - A number of international airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa and Iberia have cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, which has activated a reserve airport in the southern tip of the country to prevent rocket attacks from Gaza.

Palestinian militants have repeatedly opened fire on the Tel Aviv area during the attack that erupted on Monday, May 10, raising security concerns over Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main airport, and prompting local authorities to reroute some flights to Ramon Airport, about 200 kilometers to the south.

"The safety and security of our colleagues and customers has always been our top priority, and we continue to monitor the situation closely," british Airways said after cancelling its flights to and from Ben Gurion reported via Antara on Thursday, May 13.

Hamas militants in Gaza said they had launched rockets at Ramon Airport on Thursday, but the Israeli Airport Authority said that no rockets hit Ramon and the airport was operating as normal.

The airport, which opened in 2019, can accommodate about 2 million passengers a year. The airport is connected by bus route to the north, although there is no train service.

The arrival board at the airport shows several El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. flights from overseas that were originally scheduled to land at Ben Gurion.

An Israeli official said the two airports were operating in sync. Ben Gurion handled cargo, private, and several other flights, while Ramon was "open to landing international commercial flights" and running scheduled domestic flights.

Social media posted footage, purportedly recorded by a passenger on an El Al flight from Brussels that was the first plane diverted to Ramon, showing the scene through the window of a rocket fired and intercepted over Tel Aviv. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

UK-based Virgin Atlantic cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv for Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday.

Spanish airline Iberia also cancelled its flight to Tel Aviv from Madrid on Thursday and returned on Friday, May 14, while German Lufthansa also cancelled its flights.

"Due to the current situation in Israel, Lufthansa suspended its flights to Tel Aviv until Friday, May 14," the airline said.

Wizz Air said it had delayed Thursday's flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv until Friday.

Emirati airline Flydubai said it continues to operate daily flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The airline was scheduled to operate three flights on Thursday, while a fourth flight at night was cancelled.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines on Wednesday canceled all flights between the United States and Tel Aviv.

Virgin Atlantic said earlier this week that ticket bookings to Israel had jumped 250 per cent compared to the previous week, after an announcement by the UK Israel was on a "green list" for the reopening of holiday trips abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the outbursts of violence, with fighting in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip leading to an increase in civilian deaths, have made international airlines wary of the region.

Israel's national carrier El Al says it is ready to operate additional aircraft to cover the shortage of foreign airlines.

British airline easyJet says it has not cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv. The next flight there is from Berlin and is not scheduled until 16 May, with services from London Luton to Tel Aviv scheduled for 18 May.