British Airways suspends flights to Tel Aviv due to security concerns in Israel
Reuters. BA Flight 165 on its final descent into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport was diverted back to Heathrow airport after the pilot didn’t felt safe enough to land as there were sirens going off. “Safety is always our highest priority and we've taken the decision to return our Tel Aviv flight to Heathrow," the Reuters report quoted a spokesperson for British Airways as saying.
According to a report by Sky News, Hamas rockets had targeted the airport in Tel Aviv. Rockets were flying around Tel Aviv at the time but were not an immediate threat to the flight or to Ben Gurion Airport, said a spokesperson for Israel's airports authority, as per the Reuters report. The spokesperson also said that the diversion back to Britain was the pilot's decision and that no other flights were diverted.
After the surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel over the weekend, several other airlines including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Turkish Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM have halted their flights to Israel. Virgin Atlantic, which is one of the only major airlines still flying to Israel, said that its flying was under review and no decision had been taken. The suspension of flights by international airlines will complicate the efforts of other nations to retrieve their citizens stranded in Israel.
Many governments are working on evacuating their citizens. Airlines still operating to Tel Aviv are adjusting schedules so their flight crews can return directly without having to stay overnight in the city. (With inputs from agencies)"Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels
. Read more on livemint.com
