British Airways cancels flights to Tel Aviv amid escalating conflict
British Airways cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv on Thursday, the latest international carrier to avoid flying to Israel amid an escalating conflict there.
"The safety and security of our colleagues and customers is always our top priority, and we continue to monitor the situation closely," British Airways said.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines on Wednesday all cancelled flights between the United States and Tel Aviv.
The fiercest hostilities in years continued on Thursday, as Israel was preparing ground troops along the Gaza border and Hamas launched rocket barrages at southern Israel.
British airline easyJet said that it was not yet cancelling its flights to Tel Aviv. Its next flight there is from Berlin and not scheduled until May 16, with a service from London Luton to Tel Aviv scheduled for May 18.
"We will of course continue to monitor the situation," an easyJet spokeswoman said.
From May 17, Israel is one of the few low-risk Covid-19 destinations which Britons can visit without needing to quarantine on their return, but the conflict is already making getting there difficult and will likely deter visitors.
Reuters
For more than a month conflict between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police have taken place daily in and around Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. The conflicts started in the holy month of Ramadan and the triggers varied from contestation over land, to alleged Israeli expansion into occupied territory and tension over prayer sites. While the recent clashes have been going on for a month, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has gone on for decades.