International airlines ads continued to suspend or cancel their flights to Tel Aviv after a missile attack by the Houthi group in Yemen on the main international airport of Ben Gurion in Israel.
The Indian company Air India announced the suspension of its flights to and from Tel Aviv until May 6 to ensure the safety of its customers and employees, according to a company statement.
The German Lufthansa Air group also said it will suspend its flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport until May 6 after the attack.
Delta Air company canceled a trip from John Kennedy Airport to Tel Aviv today and Tel Aviv’s flight to the airport tomorrow.
The group, which is followed by the low -cost (Eurockers) companies, (Swiss Airlines), (Ostrian Airlines) and (Brussels Airlines), indicated that it has stopped its services because of the “current situation”.
British Airways (British Iroyez) announced the suspension of all its flights to and from Tel Aviv until May 7, and stated in a statement conveyed by the French Press Agency: “We are continuously following the operating conditions and we made a decision to suspend all our flights to and from Tel Aviv, including the B-A-405 flight on Wednesday 7 May.”
Also, the Hungarian company “Wizer” for low -cost airline also announced the cancellation of its flights to Israel until Tuesday morning, according to the Yisrael Hume newspaper. United Airways, United Airlines, and the low -cost Ryan Air company, Ryan Air, announced the cancellation of its glorified flights to Israel today, Sunday, according to Israeli channel (12).
The airport authority in Israel announced the resumption of navigation movement at Ben Gurion Airport after a stop due to the fall of the Yemeni missile near it.
After the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz threatened to respond “seven times” on a missile fired from Yemen in the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport near the coastal Tel Aviv.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23xq23lvnho
The Minister of Defense said in a statement: “Whoever strikes us will be hit with seven times,” and the French press agency quoted an Israeli government official as confirming that the Israeli security council will meet today, and Israeli media reported yesterday that the council would be reckoning about a plan to expand the military operation in the Gaza Strip and issue calls for reserve soldiers.
Immediately after the attack that targeted the airport, Indian Airlines returned its plane to Delhi, European Airlines landed plane passengers at Madrid airport, which was scheduled to head to Israel.
According to the arrival board at Ben Gurion Airport, Austrian airlines canceled all its flights to Israel until tomorrow, and canceled both Swiss Airlines and Brussels Air lines one flight.
Italian Airlines (ITA) canceled two flights to Rome, and it was reported that the passengers on a French Airlines flight to Tel Aviv had landed from the plane before taking off.
Economic losses
The expert in Israeli affairs, Imad Abu Awad, said that the number of travelers at Lod Airport, which Israel Ben Gurion calls between 60 to 70 thousand passengers per day, causing immediate economic damage to Israel, as well as its direct impact on the tourism sector.
He added in a comment to (Al -Jazeera Net) that the closure of the airport will lead to a significant decline in the confidence of tourists and investors, given that Ben Gurion Airport is one of the most prominent vital landmarks in Israel, considering that the impact of this step will be wide at various levels.
He pointed out that Israel has begun to close parts of the airport due to the decline in demand for travel to the country due to the ongoing war, which reflects the growing negative impact due to the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
Abu Awad explained that the arrival of one of the missiles to its target at the airport is evidence of the weak confidence of the Israeli society in the security establishment and the state, and the failure of the Hitz defense system in confronting the attack, losing a sense of security, and pushing towards further decline in the tourism and investment sectors.
He indicated that the economic impact will increase if this type of attack is repeated, especially with the announcement of major airlines to cancel their flights to Israel.
The Yemeni missile, which fell in the vicinity of the Israeli airport known as an Israeli airport at Ben Gurion Airport, came the main international gateway to the Israeli occupation, at the most sensitive time, as it carries its economic weight as much as it was caused by the sound, and it came at a time when the Israeli aviation sector suffers from a shock after October 7, 2023 and its great losses that it incurred.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw92pjgti2u
confusion
For his part, the specialist in the Israeli affairs, Dr. Ashraf Badawi, said that the attack on Ben Gurion Airport has been repeated since October 7, 2023 and has not confused air traffic several times since the war began.
He ruled out that the air navigation movement in Israel would return as it was before the war in the foreseeable term, and if its government announced its return gradually, especially with the Houthis an explicit warning to the global airlines, as a group spokesman said it was an “unsafe airport.”
In the context of the security situation in Israel, Hamed said that the footage of the Yemeni missile falls near Ben Gurion Airport via social media reflects the state of security failure, which is added to its predecessor on October 7, from which the settlers were not of the escalation of the missile, especially since the missile penetrated all air defense systems, which prompted the Israeli occupation army to open an investigation into the incident to know the details of the failure of the defense system from dropping the missile.
Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies + Israeli press
