British Airways is suspending all flights to Israel through to March 2025, amid heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and ahead of the IDF’s planned response to Iranian aggression.
The flagship airline, which previously informed customers it was “continually monitoring” the situation the Middle East, said it would be offering full refunds to those who have already purchased seats to Israel.
British Airways does not operate flights to Lebanon.
The move, which was announced on Monday, makes British Airways the latest in a long list of carriers who are no longer flying to the Jewish State. Last week, the budget airline Wizz Air nixed all its flights to and from Israel until January, while America’s Delta and United airlines have halted their flights to the country until at least the end of March.
Following the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) advised Europeans in September against flying to Israel. Despite the recommendation since being lifted, European airlines have been hesitant to restore their previous routes to the country.
With America’s two major airlines, Delta and United, no longer offering flights to the Jewish State, Israel’s El Al is currently the only airline to provide direct flights between Israel and the United States. Israeli airlines Isair and Arkia have also maintained operations to and from the country throughout the conflict, only pausing when Israeli air space or Ben Gurion International Airport is closed.
A few days ago, Arkia announced it was launching new tourist flights from Manchester to Tel Aviv, offering up to two flights a week despite the UK government issuing a safety warning earlier in the month, marking Tel Aviv as an “amber” zone, meaning it does not advise non-essential travel to the city.
Many foreign airlines have cancelled flights to Israel in the past year due to the conflict between it and Hamas in Gaza, the creeping conflict with Hezbollah in the north, and two direct missile attacks on Israel by Iran in April and October. The latter attacks forced Israel to close its airspace for a couple of hours.
EasyJet, Emirates, Air India, Ryanair, and Air Canada are just some of the airlines to have stopped offering flight to Israel in recent months.
On Monday afternoon this week, Ben Gurion airport briefly halted take-offs and landings following orders from Israel’s national security apparatus. Flights were halted for less than half an hour while the IDF carried out interceptions to shoot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea, before they entered Israeli airspace.