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F.A.A. Halts U.S. Flights to Israel Airlines Suspend Flights to Israel After Hamas Rocket Falls Near Main Airport
(about 5 hours 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. Airlines in the United States and Europe suspended flights to and from Israel on Tuesday 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.” Major airlines canceled service — and in several cases, diverted planes in midflight — after the Federal Aviation Administration instructed American carriers not to fly to Israel for 24 hours because of the “potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza.”
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. The disruption of air travel at the height of the summer tourism season highlighted the growing impact of the conflict in the Gaza Strip on the Israeli economy, even as the government sought to project an aura of business as usual.
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. It also provides a victory of sorts for the Palestinian militant movement Hamas, which controls Gaza and has been firing rockets at Israel for the past three weeks. It is the first time the group has managed to cause restrictions on travel to Ben-Gurion airport; the last time foreign airlines suspended service to Israel was in 1991, when Iraq fired Scud missiles at the country.
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. The three United States carriers with scheduled service to Israel — Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways — quickly canceled their flights, and were later joined by Air Canada and a number of Western European airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa and KLM. Turkish Airlines and the Russian carrier Aeroflot also suspended flights.
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. British Airways said it “continues to operate as normal” for the moment, though a spokeswoman said the airline would monitor the situation closely. And El Al, the Israeli national carrier, kept flying as usual.
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. The F.A.A. said it would provide updated instructions to the airlines “as soon as conditions permit.” The European Aviation and Safety Agency also warned airlines to avoid Israeli airspace.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday to seek his help in reversing the decision to suspend flights, Obama administration officials said. They did not comment on the substance of the call, which was first reported by the Israeli new media, nor did they say how Mr. Kerry responded to Mr. Netanyahu’s request.
Ben-Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway, handled 14 million visitors last year and is critical to Israel’s economy. It is about 40 miles from the Gaza border, closer than either of Israel’s other international airports, at Eilat and Haifa. Those airports are much smaller than Ben-Gurion and handle mostly domestic and European flights; no American carrier serves either one.
The decision to suspend service reflects a turn to greater caution by the airline industry, which appears to be much more sensitive to the risks of flying over conflict areas after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner over eastern Ukraine last week.
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.
European airlines following suit included Air France, Brussels Airlines and KLM. Airlines of the Lufthansa Group, including the flagship, Austrian, Germanwings and Swiss, ordinarily operate seven to 10 flights daily from Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Zurich and Vienna, but the group canceled them all for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Delta had a flight in the air on its way to Israel when the decision to restrict flights into Israeli airspace 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 headed for France.
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.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 police said that the rocket that struck Yehud on Tuesday badly damaged two houses. But the Israeli official noted that most of the rockets fired at the Tel Aviv area by militants had been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile system.
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. Ephraim Sneh, a retired general and deputy defense minister of Israel, was sharply critical of the decision to suspend flights. It was a dream of the militant Hamas leadership “to disconnect Israel from the outer world,” he told reporters on a conference call sponsored by the New York-based Israel Policy Forum.
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.