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| F.A.A. Halts U.S. Flights to Israel | F.A.A. Halts U.S. Flights to Israel |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Federal Aviation Administration instructed American air carriers on Tuesday not to fly to Israel for 24 hours, and major airlines canceled their flights, after a rocket fell about a mile from Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv. | |
| All three United States carriers with scheduled service to Israel — Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways — suspended their flights. The agency said it would provide updated instructions to the airlines “as soon as conditions permit.” | |
| The disruption of air travel at the height of the summer tourism season highlighted the impact of the conflict in the Gaza Strip on the Israeli economy. | |
| It also came at a time when airlines around the globe appeared to be much more sensitive about the risks of flying over conflict areas, after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner over eastern Ukraine last week. | |
| The F.A.A.'s order applied only to American carriers, but at least three European airlines — Air France, Lufthansa and KLM — followed suit, canceling flights to and from Tel Aviv. Others appeared to still be operating their flights, including British Airways, which said it “continues to operate as normal” and was monitoring the situation closely. El Al, the Israeli national carrier, kept flying as usual. | |
| Delta suspended its service between Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv “until further notice” and did not indicate when it might resume flights. US Airways said that it canceled Tuesday’s flight from Philadelphia and that it was in contact with federal authorities. United canceled its two daily flights from Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday. | Delta suspended its service between Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv “until further notice” and did not indicate when it might resume flights. US Airways said that it canceled Tuesday’s flight from Philadelphia and that it was in contact with federal authorities. United canceled its two daily flights from Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday. |
| Delta had a flight in the air on its way to Israel when the decision was made. Flight 468, a Boeing 747 with 273 passengers and 17 crew members aboard, was diverted to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris after the rocket fell in Yehud, a Tel Aviv suburb just north of the airport. According to Flightradar24.com, the plane was flying over Greece, about two hours from its destination, when it turned around and diverted to Paris. | Delta had a flight in the air on its way to Israel when the decision was made. Flight 468, a Boeing 747 with 273 passengers and 17 crew members aboard, was diverted to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris after the rocket fell in Yehud, a Tel Aviv suburb just north of the airport. According to Flightradar24.com, the plane was flying over Greece, about two hours from its destination, when it turned around and diverted to Paris. |
| United’s flight from Tel Aviv bound for Newark, scheduled to depart at 9 p.m. (2 p.m. Eastern time), was listed by the Israeli Airports Authority as still operating, but a later United departure was listed as canceled. | |
| The State Department warned American travelers on Monday to put off going to Israel, the West Bank or Gaza because of the increasing danger from combat and from rocket fire. | |
| An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Israel had had no advance notification by the airlines of their intention to cancel flights. The official insisted that it was safe to fly to Israel. | An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Israel had had no advance notification by the airlines of their intention to cancel flights. The official insisted that it was safe to fly to Israel. |
| “If they wanted to hand the terrorists a prize they couldn’t have chosen a better way,” the official said, adding, “If it was safe so far, why would it not be safe now? Nothing has changed. The airport has been there since Day 1.” | “If they wanted to hand the terrorists a prize they couldn’t have chosen a better way,” the official said, adding, “If it was safe so far, why would it not be safe now? Nothing has changed. The airport has been there since Day 1.” |
| Israel has two other international airports, at Eilat and Haifa, but they handle mostly domestic and European flights; no American carrier serves either airport. Both are farther from Gaza, the source of the rocket fire, than Ben-Gurion is. | |
| The rocket that struck Yehud on Tuesday, less than six miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, landed between two houses and caused extensive damage to them, according to the police. | The rocket that struck Yehud on Tuesday, less than six miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, landed between two houses and caused extensive damage to them, according to the police. |
| But the Israeli official noted that most of the rockets fired at the Tel Aviv area by militants had been successfully intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile defense system. He said he hoped the suspended flights would resume after 24 hours. |