UAE’s flag carrier Etihad cancels flights to Israel and Lebanon; flydubai reroutes services
Sunday flight operations to Tel Aviv, Beirut were cancelled amid growing regional tensions
Dubai: UAE carriers have cancelled and rerouted their services to Tel Aviv, Israel, and Beirut, Lebanon, due to escalating regional tensions.
UAE’s national carrier Etihad Airways cancelled its services to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut on Sunday, August 25, in response to the closure of Tel Aviv airport and ongoing regional developments.
The airline said it is monitoring the situation across the region and continues to maintain close contact with authorities.
The airline said Tel Aviv flights affected are EY593 from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Tel Aviv (TLV) and EY594 from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Beirut flights affected are EY535 from Abu Dhabi to Beirut (BEY) and EY538 from Beirut to Abu Dhabi.
“The safety of our guests and crew is our number one priority, and we regret any inconvenience caused by this cancellation,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Emirates’ sister concern, flydubai, said it diverted its Dubai-Tel Aviv flight FZ 1245 to Ramon International Airport (ETM) on August 25 due to the temporary closure of Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV).
“The return flight FZ 1246 has been cancelled, and we are in touch with passengers regarding their rebooking options. Flights today are currently scheduled to operate following the reopening of Ben Gurion Airport,” a flydubai spokesperson said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and amend our schedule accordingly,” the statement explained. Dubai’s flagship carrier, Emirates, suspended its operations in Tel Aviv “until further notice” in November 2023.
Flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv were suspended for approximately 90 minutes on Sunday after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel. In response, Israel’s military deployed around 100 jets to strike Lebanon, aiming to prevent a larger attack, marking one of the most significant clashes in over 10 months of border conflict, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, an AFP correspondent said that Beirut airport was functioning on Sunday, but many passengers were stuck as flights were cancelled or delayed.
Other airlines, including several European carriers, have also cancelled and temporarily suspended their services to both these airports. Air France has cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until Monday. “Resuming these routes will be subject to a new assessment of the security situation,” the airline said in a statement.
Jordan’s flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, suspended flights to Beirut on Sunday “due to the current situation”. Meanwhile, German carrier Lufthansa announced on Friday that it is extending the suspension of flights to Tehran and Tel Aviv until September 2 due to security concerns.