Airlines suspend flights to Israel as tensions mount

Major European airlines have moved to suspend flights to Israel and some other parts of the Middle East as fears grow of a wider conflict in the region.

Lufthansa Group, which also owns Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and Swiss, said all flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut are suspended up to and including 12 August. While flights to Amman and Erbil are cancelled up to and including Wednesday (7 August).

ITA Airways has suspended operations to Tel Aviv until Tuesday (6 August) to ensure “the safety of its passengers and crews”. Meanwhile KLM, which had previously suspended flights to Israel up to 31 August, has gone further and cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until 26 October.

Israeli carrier El Al is increasing its services to and from Tel Aviv this week, despite the heightened tensions, which follows attacks carried out in Lebanon and Iran last week.

US carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have also continued their suspensions of flights to Tel Aviv.

Delta flights between New York and Tel Aviv are suspended through 31 August, according to a statement on its website. 

Meanwhile, United Airlines said it will “continue to monitor the situation and will focus on the safety of our customers and crews as we decide when to resume service”. United did not provide an updated suspension date.