ACRE – A number of airlines have stopped flight operations to Israel as the confrontation with Palestinians and Hamas rises to a crescendo.
German airline Lufthansa has announced to cut flights to Israel following the fresh conflict which has drawn international attention.
“Given the current security situation in Tel Aviv,” Lufthansa will maintain a single flight to Frankfurt but “all other Lufthansa flights to and from Tel Aviv have been canceled for this Saturday,” the carrier said.
Media reports say that Austrian Airlines, Swiss Air and Turkish Airlines are among the carriers to cancel flights to and from Israel.
Additionally, Wizz Air has so far diverted four flights that were en route to Israel when the confrontation started. Airbus jets from Catania, Cluj, Debrecen and Warsaw all diverted to Larnaca, the airport on the island of Cyprus; a United Airlines flight to Tel Aviv was also diverted back to San Francisco as the tension escalated.
Meanwhile, the State Department has issued an urgent security alert for Israel, informing US citizens to “remain vigilant” and to “take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness”.
The severity of the conflict can be assessed from the fact that a Wizz Air flight from Rome to Tel Aviv turned around and flew back to its starting point; the same happened with an Anadulojet service from Istanbul.
As far as flights from the United Kingdom are concerned, Virgin Atlantic’s overnight flight from London Heathrow arrived at Tel Aviv at 5 a.m. but caution is being exercised now to avoid any accident.
The on-ground situation is intense at the moment primarily because at least 40 Israelis have been killed and hundreds have been hospitalized in the confrontation.
Media reports say that soldiers are being taken as hostage and in a rare public statement, Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif urged all Palestinians to confront Israel.
“We’ve decided to say enough is enough. This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” he said.
