Delta Air Lines and American Airlines Group Inc. said they are
canceling flights to Israel until further notice after reports that
a rocket landed near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
A Delta Boeing 747 from New York was flying over the
Mediterranean headed for Tel Aviv on Tuesday when it turned around
and flew to Paris instead. Flight 468 had 273 passengers and 17
crew on board.
Airlines and passengers are growing more anxious about safety
since Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying over eastern Ukraine was
shot down last week, killing all 298 people on board.
American Airlines said it cancelled its Philadelphia-Tel Aviv
flight that was supposed to depart Tuesday night. It also scrubbed
its Tel Aviv-Philadelphia flight that was supposed to depart from
Israel earlier Tuesday. That plane is on the ground at the
airport.
European airlines are monitoring the situation, though still
flying. Deutsche Lufthansa AG said its plans are not affected, but
will monitor the situation and may cancel flights depending on the
situation on the ground.
"We continue to operate as normal. Safety and security are our
highest priorities and we continue to monitor the situation
closely," a British Airways spokeswoman said.
Ofer Lefler, spokesman for Israel Airports Authority, said the
airport is secure.
"We are not talking about a decision of the U.S. government,
rather the decisions of two airlines. Delta and US Air,
independently, have canceled flights due to arrive in Israel this
evening," Mr. Lefler said in a statement.
"The ministry of transportation and civil-aviation authorities
have told the airlines that Ben Gurion is secure for takeoffs and
landings," he continued.
Discount carrier EasyJet PLC, Europe's second-largest, still
serves Tel Aviv "as no government advice has changed on travel to
the region," the airline said. "We are allowing passengers booked
on that route to change their dates or destination if they wish
to," it said. Air Berlin PLC is adopting the same policy as
EasyJet.
Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com and Robert Wall at
robert.wall@wsj.com
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