Delta Just Halted All Flights To Israel
A Delta flight from New York to Tel Aviv was diverted on Tuesday amid reports that a rocket landed near Ben Gurion Airport, the AP reports. The plane turned around mid-flight and headed to Paris.
There have been several red alerts in Lod, the town near Tel Aviv where the international airport is located, since the escalation between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, began two weeks ago.
It's long been thought that the potential inoperability of Ben Gurion is a strategic red line for Israel.
"We do not want missiles on Petah Tikva, or Grads on the Ben-Gurion international airport," Benjamin Netanyahu said during a major 2009 address on the peace process at Bar Ilan University, early during his term as Israel's Prime Minister.
Israel has other commercial airports, in Haifa, the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, and Sde Dov, in northern Tel Aviv. But Haifa and Eilat have both come under rocket fire during this latest conflict, and the Eilat airport doesn't have a long enough runway to accomodate a trans-Atlantic jet liner.
Here's the statement from Delta:
Delta has suspended service until further notice to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and its New York-JFK hub. Delta, in coordination with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, is doing so to ensure the safety and security of our customers and employees.
Delta flight 468, a Boeing 747 from JFK with 273 passengers and 17 crew, diverted to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Tuesday after reports of a rocket or associated debris near the airport in Tel Aviv. Delta is working to reaccommodate these customers.
Delta continues to work closely with U.S. and other government resources to monitor the situation. A customer waiver for travel to Tel Aviv is in effect and published on delta.com.
It is so far unclear if the FAA plans to advise other airlines not to fly into Israel.
More to come...