- By Dearbail Jordan
- Business journalist, BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
Airline passengers are facing cancellations or disruptions to their flights to Israel and neighboring countries following the weekend’s Iranian airstrikes.
EasyJet has suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv until Sunday April 21 inclusive.
Wizz Air announced that it would resume flights to Israel on Tuesday April 16 after stopping flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday.
However, he warned: “Passengers may experience some schedule changes.”
Wizz Air said it was “closely monitoring the situation with the relevant authorities and keeping its passengers informed of all schedule changes.”
“All passengers affected by the schedule changes will be offered options to rebook or refund,” the statement added.
Israel closed its airspace Saturday evening after Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on the country. Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel in retaliation for a strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed a number of senior Iranian commanders.
Israel has not said it carried out the attack on the consulate, but it is widely believed to be behind it.
Israel reopened its airspace early Sunday morning, as did Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, which had suspended flights for a time.
German airline group Lufthansa announced that it had suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv, Erbil and Amman until Monday inclusive, but announced that they would resume on Tuesday.
However, he clarified that flights to Beirut and Tehran would remain suspended until at least April 18.
A spokesperson said: “The Lufthansa Group had already decided on Friday April 12 to fly over Iranian airspace until Thursday April 18 inclusive and thus temporarily suspend its flights to Tehran.”
Meanwhile, KLM canceled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until Tuesday.
Rerouted flights
Other airlines are rerouting their flights, which could make journeys longer. Australian carrier Qantas said its planes were changing course to avoid Iranian airspace.
Virgin Atlantic said: “We are not currently flying over Iraq, Iran or Israel, but we continue to monitor the situation for any potential impact on our operations.
“The safety and security of our customers and people is paramount and always will be. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to customers by slightly longer flight times.”
The airline stopped flights to Israel last year, but a spokesperson said it plans to resume flights in September.
British Airways said there would be a flight to Tel Aviv on Monday, but added that it was keeping the situation under review.
The British flag carrier, which is owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), resumed flights to Israel earlier this month after suspending travel last October.
She had been making four flights a week to Israel since the beginning of April. The planes stop at Larnaca in Cyprus where there is a crew change to avoid staff spending the night in Tel Aviv. Flights then operate non-stop from Tel Aviv to the UK.
Iberia Express, also owned by IAG, canceled its flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday.
Finnair said it had suspended operations in Iranian airspace until further notice. Flights from Doha will be rerouted to Egypt, which a spokesperson said would cause delays of “a few minutes”.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) reiterated its previous guidance to airlines, urging them to exercise caution in Israeli and Iranian airspace.
“The European Commission and EASA will continue to closely monitor the situation to assess any potential risks to the safety of EU aircraft operators and will be ready to act appropriately,” he added. .
Qatar Airways announced that it had resumed flights to Iran, to Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz and Isfahan. “The safety and security of our passengers remains our top priority,” he said.
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