Dozens of flights to and from Tel Aviv were canceled by major airlines Saturday and Sunday after the Palestinian terror group Hamas launched a large-scale attack, stranding holiday tourists in Israel and leaving Israelis abroad scrambling for a way to return home.
American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, and Ryanair were among those pulling flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Israel’s second international airport at Eilat, a tourist destination on the Red Sea.
And Israeli flag carrier El Al said Sunday that it was maintaining its Tel Aviv flights for now, though some flights operated by foreign partners had been canceled.
“We might cancel flights to places where we don’t have a lot of Israelis to help other Israelis in other places,” a spokeswoman told AFP.
In a statement, El Al added that it was operating “in accordance with the instructions of the Israeli security forces,” with all flights now departing only from Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion airport.
Like most other airlines, it said clients could change their tickets without charge.
But Israelis trying to return home expressed their frustration to media outlets Sunday as their flights were delayed or canceled. Israir and Arkia Airlines have organized rescue flights to return Israelis abroad.
Ofir Fahima, whose father-in-law has been missing since the surprise attack on southern Israel Saturday morning, told the Walla news site that he and his wife flew from Istanbul to Athens in order to return on an Arkia rescue flight to Israel.
“The flight kept getting delayed,” he said, claiming a foreign crew that arrived was unwilling to take them to Israel. “The plane is standing empty and we are stuck on the bus on the tarmac next to the plane.”
Passengers wait at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, as flights are canceled and delayed because of a massive surprise attack by Hamas, on October 7, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP)
At JFK International Airport, Israeli passengers were subdued and glued to their phones for the latest news about the war, as they waited for an El Al flight to Tel Aviv.
Albert, 22, a soldier from Tel Aviv on a month’s leave to visit family in Seattle, was flying home with his girlfriend Meital.
“I have to go back. I need to get back to serving,” he said.
A Lufthansa spokesman on Saturday cited “the current security situation” to say it was canceling all flights to and from Tel Aviv “up until and including Monday,” adding that it was monitoring the security situation in Israel.
Brussels Airline, part of the Lufthansa group, also canceled its Tel Aviv flights.
Air France said it had halted Tel Aviv flights “until further notice,” and the Air France-KLM group’s low-cost carrier Transavia said it was canceling all flights from Paris and Lyon to Tel Aviv up to and including Monday.
Israeli forces walk by a burned car and a collapsed building in the southern town of Sderot, October 8, 2023, following an assault by Hamas terrorists. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Spanish airline Iberia announced that its budget subsidiary Iberia Express was canceling its Tel Aviv flights.
Italy’s flag carrier ITA Airways canceled its flights through Sunday morning at the earliest “to protect the safety of passengers and crew,” while Polish carrier LOT also canceled its flights from the Polish capital on Saturday.
Other airlines suspending flights included Aegean, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air, and Air Canada.
The flight delays came amid ongoing combat between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists inside Israel. On Saturday, hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrated the country in an unprecedented onslaught on southern communities, killing over 600 people. Rocket barrages targeted areas around Tel Aviv, including some close to the airport.
On Sunday morning, over 24 hours after the coordinated assault began, Israeli security forces were still struggling to clear terrorist cells entrenched within devastated communities.
