British Airways announced on Wednesday that it has suspended all its flights to Tel Aviv due to security concerns in Israel. This decision came on the same day that BA Flight 165 from London’s Heathrow Airport was moments away from landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv before turning around and heading back to Britain. The flight-tracking website Flightradar showed that the plane made a U-turn near Haifa and was due to land at 3.05 p.m.
The spokesperson for Israel’s airports authority mentioned that rockets were flying around Tel Aviv at the time of the diversion, but there was no immediate threat to the flight or the airport. The decision to return to Britain was made by the pilot, and no other flights have been diverted. British Airways stated that they are suspending all flights to and from Tel Aviv after assessing the situation. They are in contact with customers booked to travel to or from Tel Aviv to apologize for the disruption and offer options such as refunds or rebooking with other airlines at a later date. The airline did not specify when flights would resume, stating that they are closely monitoring the situation in the region.
Since the attack by Hamas on Israel, many international airlines have suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv. EasyJet, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, and Wizz Air are among the airlines that have halted flights and are offering refunds and waiving rebooking fees for passengers. Virgin Atlantic, however, continues to operate flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv. Flydubai has announced a reduction in flights to Tel Aviv, and U.S. carriers Delta, United, and American Airlines have recently canceled flights or codeshare services. The U.S. government is in talks with airlines to encourage them to resume flights and is exploring options, including charter flights, to assist U.S. citizens in returning home from Israel. United Airlines has announced additional roundtrip flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Athens to help Americans trying to leave Israel. The Ministry of Tourism in Israel has set up a hotline for tourists to ensure their safety and provide information. Reuters has contributed to this report.