Airlines suspend flights as Israel and Hezbollah clashes | Aviation

British Airways is suspending flights until Wednesday, while Air France is suspending all flights until Monday.

Several airlines have suspended flights to Israel after Israeli forces and the Lebanese group Hezbollah engaged in the heaviest fighting since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza.

British Airways announced on Sunday that it would cancel all flights to and from Israel until Wednesday, while Air France announced that it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until Monday.

Etihad, Ethiopian Airlines and Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz have also announced they are suspending flights to Tel Aviv scheduled for Sunday.

Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will extend its previous suspension of flights between London and Tel Aviv until September 25 after reassessing the situation.

Meanwhile, Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian suspended its flights to Beirut on Sunday, citing the “current situation,” state news agency Petra reported.

On Friday, Germany’s Lufthansa extended the suspension of flights to Beirut until the end of September. The airline also said it would not fly to Tel Aviv or Tehran until September 2.

Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Air Lines announced last week that it would extend its suspension of flights to Israel until at least Oct. 31, following a similar announcement by American Airlines.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport halted operations for about two hours on Sunday morning as Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, forcing incoming flights to be diverted.

The Israeli military said it carried out the strikes with about 100 fighter jets after learning that Hezbollah was preparing to attack central Israel at 5 a.m. The Lebanese group said it launched hundreds of drones and missiles across the Israel-Lebanon border.

In a televised address, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah denied that Israel had anticipated the attack and denied Israeli claims that the army had destroyed the Lebanese group’s rocket launchers.

According to Nasrallah, the attack was in retaliation for the killing of commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last month.