Airlines Suspend Israel Flights After Regional Escalation

Global airlines including United, Delta, Turkish Airlines and others have suspended flights to Israel amid rising military tensions in the Middle East. The cancellations followed Israeli missile strikes on Iran overnight and Iran’s retaliation with over 100 drones launched toward Israeli territory early Friday.

Delta Air Lines, which had only resumed Tel Aviv service on May 20, announced it will suspend flights to Israel until at least September. The airline had recently planned to expand to two daily nonstops from New York later this year due to high demand, but those plans are now on hold. United Airlines has also halted its Tel Aviv flights through July 31 and is monitoring the situation to determine when service might resume. Two of United’s flights en route to Israel returned mid-flight to New York after the Israeli airstrikes began. The airline confirmed that 26 of its crew members who were in Israel were flown back to the U.S. on El Al flights before that carrier also suspended operations.

El Al, Israel’s national airline, has stopped accepting bookings through the end of June and warned travelers against going to Ben Gurion Airport. The airline cited airspace closures and directives from Israeli security authorities. Flights en route to Israel were diverted to alternate El Al destinations. The carrier’s low-cost subsidiary Sundor has also suspended operations.

Several other carriers, including Turkish Airlines, Wizz Air, and Germany’s Lufthansa, joined the growing list of airlines halting service. Lufthansa has paused flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran through the end of July, and service to Jordan and Lebanon until at least June 20. Emirates has suspended flights to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran from its Dubai base.

Airlines have offered travel vouchers and waived change fees for passengers affected by the disruptions. Many are now rerouting long-haul flights to avoid Middle East airspace entirely. This adds to the growing list of conflict zones that have forced airlines to take longer, costlier paths, including over Ukraine and parts of Russia.

The escalating conflict has once again underscored the vulnerability of global aviation to geopolitical crises. As the situation evolves, carriers are closely monitoring developments and coordinating with aviation authorities to ensure passenger and crew safety.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, cnbc.com