A British Airways Airbus A320 aircraft takes off from Heathrow Airport in London, England, on May 17, 2021.Reuters/John Sibley/File Photo Obtaining license rights
LONDON/WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) – British Airways said on Wednesday it would suspend all flights to Tel Aviv after Israel diverted a flight from London to the UK citing security concerns.
Separately, Virgin Atlantic announced it would suspend all flights to and from Tel Aviv for the next 72 hours, citing the safety of passengers and crew.
A spokesperson for Israel’s airport authority said rockets were flying around Tel Aviv at the time of the British Airways diversion, but there was no immediate threat to the flight or Ben Gurion Airport.
She said the return to the UK was the pilot’s decision and no other flights were diverted.
Governments and airlines are seeking additional flights from Israel to evacuate their citizens, while Israeli airlines seek to bring reservists back to Israel.
Aviation authorities have warned, but not grounded, airlines flying to Israel, although some experts have warned that current airspace conditions are dangerous due to continued rocket attacks.
A British Airways spokesperson said: “Safety is always our top priority and we have taken the decision to return the Tel Aviv flight to Heathrow.”
Before the suspension, British Airways operated one daily flight to Tel Aviv, according to aviation tracking website Flightradar.
Many international airlines have suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv since Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Flydubai announced on Wednesday that it would reduce its flights to Tel Aviv from four to two daily.
Due to the grounding of British Airways, IAG-affiliated airlines are currently not offering flights to Tel Aviv, a spokesperson for the group said.
Flight radar showed British Airways flight BA165 almost reached Tel Aviv before turning back to London.
The U.S. government is consulting with airlines and encouraging them to resume operations, the State Department said.
The department announced Wednesday that it is considering options such as charter flights to help Americans travel to neighboring countries with commercial flights to the United States.
Chicago-based United Airlines (UAL.O) said Wednesday it will operate two additional round-trip flights between Newark, N.J., and Athens in the coming days to assist Americans seeking to return from Israel. did.
Sarah Young, Joanna Prusinska and David Shepherdson report in Washington, writing by Sachin Ravikumar.Editing: Bernadette Baum, Jonathan Otis, Rod Nickel, Elaine Hardcastle, Cynthia Osterman
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