The US Federal Aviation Administration yesterday banned all US airlines from flying to or from Tel Aviv Airport as other airlines also suspended operations.

 

The FAA says this follows a rocket strike, which landed approximately one mile from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport yesterday morning (July 22, 2014). The FAA says that the so-called ‘NOTAM’ [notice to Airmen of potential hazards] will be reviewed today.

 

Initially, the US Government instructed Delta, US Airways and United to cease all flights to Tel Aviv and this instruction was followed by a completely separate ’advisory’ from EASA (the European Aviation Safety Agency) which recommended a temporary cessation of flights to Tel Aviv.

 

The ‘temporary’ FAA ban has been imposed despite assurances from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Ben Gurion Airport is ‘safe’ and the Israeli Government says it can’t understand why the US would ‘hand terror a prize’.

 

Other airlines that have subsequently decided to suspend operations to Tel Aviv for the time being include Aegean Airlines; Air Berlin; Air Canada; Air France; Alitalia; Austria Airlines; easyJet; Germanwings; KLM; Norwegian Air; Swiss; and Turkish Airlines.

 

[All international flights from Terminal 1 are being moved to Terminal 3 until Saturday July 26 at midnight. The airport authority says there will be no change in domestic flight departure locations-Ed].