International airlines cancel scores of Israel-bound flights

Various international airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv on Tuesday amidst growing security concerns. The cancellations came after a rocket from Gaza struck near the city’s international airport.

The United States, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the first to warn US airlines about the increased risks, prompting Delta to divert a Tel Aviv-bound Boeing 747 with 273 passengers and 17 crew on board to Paris, although other airlines initially said they would continue as usual.

However, the FAA promptly issued a full flight ban on Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport for at least 24 hours, citing the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

Delta, US Airways and United Airlines all subsequently heeded the order.

Several European airlines followed suit, with the European Aviation Safety Agency issuing a "strong recommendation to avoid until further notice Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport," according to AFP.

Some Russian airlines have also begun cancelling flights and diverting those already in the air.  

The widespread cancelations help to highlight renewed international concern over the vulnerability of commercial aircraft from surface-to-air missiles, even at cruising altitudes in excess of 30,000 feet.

Last week, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine with nearly 300 on board.

"Due to the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza, all flight operations to/from Ben Gurion International Airport by US operators are prohibited until further advised," said the FAA's Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, issued shortly after 1600 GMT.

Israel's Transportation Ministry, responded by calling on the airlines to reverse their decision and insisting that the airport remained "safe for landings and departures."

"Ben-Gurion Airport is safe and completely guarded and there is no reason whatsoever that American companies would stop their flights and hand terror a prize," the ministry said in a statement.

Air France has now cancelled Tel Aviv flights "until further notice" while Lufthansa said it would ground all Israel-bound flights for 72 hours, while explaining it had halted the service "for the security of passengers and crew" amid the "unstable situation" near the airport.

Air Canada also cancelled flights for security reasons as did America’s United although the carrier was more subtle, saying it had stopped its New York –Tel Aviv route "due to aircraft availability."

The UK’s British Airways and low-cost rival EasyJet, however, defied the warning.

"We continue to operate as normal," a British Airways spokesman said. "Safety and security are our highest priorities and we continue to monitor the situation closely."