Flights to the Middle East resume following Iran's drone attack on Israel
Ilaria Grasso MacolaSeveral carriers serving the Middle East have restarted flights to and from the region after a retaliatory attack on Israel by Iran resulted in a number of countries closing their airspace at the weekend.
Royal Jordanian and Egyptair resumed operations on Sunday (14 April) as Jordanian, Israeli and Lebanese airspace reopened following Iran’s drone and missile attack.
Israel’s El Al, meanwhile, resumed operations on Sunday afternoon following the reopening of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, although it warned customers of potential short-notice changes and cancellations.
"We are diligently working to maintain our flight operations, adapting our schedule as necessary to comply with current restrictions and adjustments, ensuring our commitment to service continuity amid these challenging circumstances,” the Israeli airline said in a statement.
Meanwhile, gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad had to cancel and reroute some of their flights at the weekend, while Swiss International Airlines suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice according to international media reports.
Swiss’s parent company Lufthansa Group told Reuters it was suspending all flights to Amman, Beirut and Tel Aviv until at least Monday (15 April) and would make sure to avoid flying over Israel, Jordan and Iraq for the foreseeable future.
The latest escalation in tensions has also prompted the Foreign Office to update its travel advice for most of the Middle East, as well as parts of north Africa and the wider Gulf region – including popular destinations like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
British nationals are continued to be advised not to travel to Israel and the West Bank, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and all of Lebanon.
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