Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, Israel reopens after rocket fire

Israel’s Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport has re-opened to traffic with a number of flights taking off on Wednesday morning. The airport was temporarily closed on the evening of March 11, 2021, due to rocket attacks from Gaza on Tel Aviv, which saw flights cancelled, delayed or diverted to Larnaca and Cairo Int’l. By Wednesday, at least 40 people were reported killed in the region in the worst outbreak of violence since 2014 between Israel and Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and hundreds of rockets fired on Israel overnight. Videos posted on social media on Tuesday night showed the Ben Gurion airport terminal being evacuated and rockets flying near the airport being intercepted by the Israeli “Iron Dome” defense system. According to FlightRadar24 and live information from the airport flight board, amongst the airlines which cancelled their return flights to Tel Aviv on Tuesday included flydubai (FZ1549 and FZ1947 from Dubai Int’l), Turkish Airlines Flight TK810 from Istanbul New, and Wizz Air Flight W64427 from Sofia. CAL Cargo Air Lines Flight 5C902 from Oslo Gardermoen diverted to Larnaca in Cyprus, as did Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS777 from Kyiv Boryspil. Lufthansa Cargo LH8290 from Frankfurt Int’l diverted to Cairo Int’l, while Lufthansa Flight LH690 returned to Frankfurt. Departures cancelled on May 12 included Delta Air Lines Flight DL233 to New York JFK and United Airlines Flight UA91 to New York Newark. However, by Wednesday morning, several flights departed again, including flights by Arkia Israeli Airlines, Blue Bird Airways Flight BZ 752 to Heraklion; El Al Israel Airlines Flight LY 315 and American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) Flight AA 8371 both to London Heathrow; Turkish Airlines Flight TK 785 to Istanbul, and Air France (AF, Paris CDG) Flight AF 1621 to Paris CDG. Later flights from Emirates (EK, Dubai Int’l) and flydubai (FZ, Dubai Int’l) were scheduled to depart on time. However, the early morning departure of LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO 152 to Warsaw Chopin was delayed. Flightradar24 ADS-B data also showed the arrival of MNG Airlines MB6122 from Istanbul, while MyWay Airlines Flight MJ301 from Tbilisi, VistaJet (Malta) Flight VJT850 from Teterboro, and Etihad Airways EY589 from Abu Dhabi Int’l were scheduled.