Airlines cancel flights to Israel as crisis worsens

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were among the European airlines to cancel services on Thursday (13 May) due to the intensifying crisis which has seen rockets fired from the Palestinian area of Gaza into Israel.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We are monitoring events in Israel extremely carefully and keeping our Tel Aviv flight operations under constant review.

“Based on our latest assessment, we have taken the decision to cancel flight VS453 from Heathrow to Tel Aviv today, Thursday 13 May, which will also result in the cancellation of the return leg VS454 from Tel Aviv.”

BA also cancelled its services to and from Tel Aviv on Thursday due to the security situation.

“Like other airlines, we have cancelled our flight to and from Tel Aviv today,” said BA. “The safety and security of our colleagues and customers is always our top priority​, and we continue to monitor the situation closely. We advise customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information.”

Lufthansa and Iberia have also cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, while Israeli airline El Al has said it may operate additional flights to make up for the cancellations from other carriers.

El Al said that incoming flights into Israel on Thursday would land at Ramon airport rather than Ben Guiron.

“At Ramon airport, passengers will go through passport control, take their baggage and will have a Covid-19 test,” added the airline. “Passengers will then be transferred by buses to the Ben Gurion Airport or to Beer-Sheva, if they choose this option.”