Summary
- Many airlines have extended suspensions of flights to Israel due to rising regional tensions.
- Some carriers are also rerouting flights to avoid Iranian, Israeli, and Lebanese airspace.
- Despite safety concerns, airlines like Emirates and Turkish Airlines are still flying over Iranian territory for now.
Several airlines have extended their suspension of flights to Israel as regional tensions continue to rise. Many carriers are also rerouting other flights to avoid Iranian, Israeli and Lebanese airspace.
Airlines extend Israel route suspensions
Around a dozen carriers have canceled flights to Israel or extended their route suspensions following the escalation of tensions this week. US majors Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, along with German flag carrier Lufthansa, were among the first to cancel flights in the last few days. In the past 48 hours, they have been joined by Aegean Airlines, Air India, ITA Airways, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, Transavia and Wizz Air.
- KLM initially suspended flights until August 6th, but has extended this to October 26th.
- ITA until October 26th.
- United until August 2nd.
- Wizz Air until August 4th.
- Aegean and Delta until August 6th.
- Lufthansa and Air India until August 8th.
- LOT until August 9th.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
Last Saturday, a suspected Hezbollah rocket strike killed 12 children in Majdal Shams, followed by the assassination of Hezbollah commander Faud Shukr in Beirut on Wednesday. Iran has also escalated its rhetoric, with its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatening Israel with a revenge strike.
Lebanon’s main airport – Beirut-Rafic Al Hariri International Airport (BEY) – has also suffered heavy cancelations within the past week, and the country’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), was forced into several last-minute schedule changes.
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A handful of other airlines, including Air France and Lufthansa, have already suspended flights.
It was reported by Israeli media earlier this week that British Airways had canceled flights to Tel Aviv. However, a spokesperson for the airline said flights would continue as normal.
Airspace diversions
Some airlines are also avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace with safety in mind, including Singapore Airlines – data from Flightradar24 shows that the Singaporean carrier has been avoiding Iranian airspace as of Friday, as have Taiwanese carriers China Airlines and EVA Air.
Photo: JEERAPAN JANKAEW | Shutterstock
Aircraft flying in the region will face an increased risk of threats like rockets and anti-aircraft fire, as well as GPS spoofing, which interferes with an aircraft’s Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
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A spike in GPS attacks in the European region boarding Russia has affected flights and could be related to military tensions.
However, many airlines continue to navigate over Iranian territory – including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines – for the time being. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Air France said the airline is avoiding Lebanese and Israeli airspace.
Israel says airspace still safe
Shmuel Zakai, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, has stated that “flights to Israel are safe” amid the flurry of cancelations and airspace diversion. Additionally, the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) played down the situation, stating,
“Some of the foreign airlines are suspending or reducing their flights to Israel for their own internal reasons. Travelers must take into account that their return to Israel may be delayed, stay in contact with the airlines and get updated about their flights.”
