Airlines extend suspension of Israel flights after Yemeni’s attack on Tel Aviv airport
A number of foreign airlines have extended cancellations of their scheduled flights to the Israeli-occupied territories following a Yemeni missile attack at Tel Aviv’s main airport.
The airlines suspended service to Israel on Sunday after a Yemeni hypersonic ballistic missile landed inside the perimeter of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and injured six people.
On Monday, the Lufthansa group of carriers — which also includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines — said that it was extending its cancellation of all flights to the occupied lands through May 11, after previously suspending them through May 6.
Air France and Hungary’s Wizz Air also prolonged their cancellations through May 13 and May 8, respectively.
Meanwhile, the US’s United Airlines extended its cancellation of flights to and from the Newark airport through May 11, beyond its original cancellation through May 8.
United Airlines had only recently resumed service to Israel after being halted for several months since the Tel Aviv regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 7, 2023.
The flight cancellations have left many Israelis stranded outside the occupied territories.
On Sunday, Israeli military failed to intercept the Yemeni missile that successfully struck the heavily fortified Ben Gurion airport.
The Yemeni Armed Forces vowed to impose a complete “aerial blockade” on Israel by “repeatedly targeting airports,” especially Ben Gurion.
They also called “upon all international airlines to take this announcement into serious consideration… and to cancel all their flights to the airports of the criminal Israeli enemy, in order to safeguard the safety of their aircraft and passengers.”
Hours later, Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes on Yemen’s Hudaydah port and the Bajil cement factory, killing two people and injuring 42 others.
Israeli officials said the aerial assaults were coordinated with the US.
Shortly before the Israeli air raids, Yemeni media reported US strikes on the capital, Sana’a, and the Marib and al-Jawf provinces, saying they injured 16 people.
The Yemeni Armed Forces began their campaign against Israeli-linked ships and targets in the occupied lands in November 2023, a month after the usurping regime waged brutal Gaza onslaught.
Yemen halted attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in January, when Israel accepted a Gaza ceasefire.
Two months later, however, Israel unilaterally broke the Gaza truce and resumed its aggression on the besieged territory, triggering the Yemeni forces to resume their anti-Israel operations.
