Flights again halted to Israel after Houthi missile lands near airport
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Travelers pull their luggage as they walk towards Ben Gurion airport after main road entrances to the facility were closed by Israeli Police.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM – European and US carriers cancelled flights for the next several days after a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels
Many foreign airlines subsequently suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv after the missile hit, sending a plume of smoke into the air and causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
Following a ceasefire deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas in January, foreign carriers had begun to resume flights to Israel after halting them for much of the last year and a half since the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack
That left flag carrier El Al Airlines – along with smaller rivals Arkia and Israir – with a near monopoly. El Al’s shares rose 7 per cent, while Israir gained 4.1 per cent in a flat broader Tel Aviv market on May 4.
Delta Air Lines said it cancelled its May 4 flight from JFK International Airport in New York to Tel Aviv and the return flight from Tel Aviv on May 5. United Airlines cancelled its twice-daily flights between Tel Aviv and Newark while it monitors the situation.
Earlier, flights from Tel Aviv on Delta and United on May 4 morning departed about 90 minutes late.
Lufthansa Group, which includes the Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels and Austrian airlines, said it had halted flights to and from Tel Aviv until the end of May 6, owing to the current situation.
ITA Airways said it had cancelled flights from Italy to Israel until the end of May 7, while Air France cancelled flights on May 4, saying customers were transferred to flights on May 5. TUS Airways flights to and from Cyprus were cancelled until the end of May 5, while Air India flights from New Delhi were halted on May 4.
Ryanair suspended flights on May 4 but flights are still scheduled for May 5, according to the Israel Airports Authority. Wizz Air also halted flights.
“I’m afraid it’s going to be very difficult to go back to France because all European carriers, from what I see on the information (board), have cancelled. Lufthansa have cancelled, Swiss have cancelled, Brussels (Airlines), so no connection is possible,” said Mr Michael Sceemes, 56, whose Air France flight was cancelled.
Aegean, flydubai and Ethiopian airlines did not cancel flights.
El Al said it would reintroduce rescue flights to Israel from Larnaca and Athens for passengers stranded by foreign carriers at a cost of US$99 (S$128) and US$149, respectively.
Mr Udi Bar Oz, head of Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was up and running less than 30 minutes after the missile hit a road nearby.
Israeli police officers investigating a crater at the site of a missile attack near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Claiming responsibility for the strike, the Houthis’ military spokesman Yahya Saree said Israel’s main airport was “no longer safe for air travel”.
The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, began targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping in late 2023, during the early days of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
US President Donald Trump in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to the Houthis. “We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future... There will be more blows,” he said. REUTERS
