Summary Major airlines cancel flights to Beirut and Ben Gurion airports Ben Gurion Airport operations resume after Israeli "preemptive strike" Flights diverted as Hezbollah attack triggers Israeli retaliation Israel has launched a major series of air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Hezbollah, for its part, then fired drones into Israel (most were intercepted). This has caused Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and Lebanon's Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport to suspend all flights (the suspension was later lifted at Tel Aviv Airport).
Numerous airlines (including US-based airlines) have announced they are suspending flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv until tomorrow at the earliest. At the time of writing, the flareup remains volatile and a developing story. Airlines cancel flights to Beirut and Ben-Gurion airports Lufthansa, Ryanair, American Airlines, Air India, Air France, flydubai, and Etihad are among the airlines that have canceled, suspended, or diverted flights bound for Beirut and/or Ben-Gurion.
In late July, several airlines announced they were temporarily suspending operations to Beirut due to the tensions and fighting in the area. “Etihad Airways has canceled its services to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut on Sunday, August 25, in response to the closure of Tel Aviv airport and ongoing regional developments. Tel Aviv flights affected are EY593 from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Tel Aviv (TLV) and EY594 from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi.
Beirut flights affected are EY535 from Abu Dhabi to Beirut (BEY) and EY538 from Beirut to Abu Dhabi,” Etihad Airways spokesperson speaking to the Khaleej Times The Khaleej Times also reported that flydubai, based in Dubai, diverted its Dubai-Tel Aviv flight FZ 1245 to Ramon International Airport (ETM) on August 25. While it would seem like the war would be devastating for the country's airlines, they have navigated the situation quite successfully. Ben-Gurion back to normal after Israeli "preemptive strike" According to Times Now , Israel announced a 48-hour emergency in response to the Hezbollah attack.
Flights in and out of Israel were suspended, and flights bound for Israel's Tel Aviv and Lebanon's Beirut were diverted to alternative airports. Hours later, The Times of Israel reported Israel's Civil Aviation Authority had announced the "resumption of flights to and from the country’s main international airport after a brief suspension as the military launched a preemptive strike on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. " Operations at Ben Gurion Airport - Israel's main international airport - resumed at 07:00 local time on Sunday (or 04:00 GMT).
Israeli Broadcasting Corporation soon reported that the airport's operations were back to normal. Meanwhile, as of the time of writing, the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, serving the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, remains closed to operations, according to JPost.com .
Israel claimed the strikes (reportedly with 100 warplanes) were preemptive against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon (Hezbollah is almost a state within a state). The claim was that the Israeli strike occurred just 30 minutes before the planned Hezbollah attack on Israel..
