PARIS\/NEW YORK
\nSeveral international air carriers said on Sunday they had suspended flights serving Tel Aviv in light of the Hamas militant attack on Israel and were waiting for conditions to improve before resuming service.
\nUS air carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they had suspended direct flights.
\nAir France, Lufthansa, Emirates and Ryanair also pulled flights to Tel Aviv\u2019s Ben Gurion airport. The pilots\u2019 union for American Airlines has directed its members to refuse to fly to Israel, citing the ongoing war. Union President Ed Sicher said in an email to members that the company\u2019s pilots should not fly to Israel until they \u201ccan be reasonably assured of the region\u2019s safety and security.\u201d
\nThe email cites the most recent advisory from the US State Department, which warns that the current situation in Israel \u201ccontinues to be unpredictable,\u201d and that mortar and rocket fire can take place any time without warning, putting aircraft in danger.
\n\u201cIt is not prudent or appropriate to knowingly put our flight crews and passengers in harm\u2019s way by maintaining flights into a war zone,\u201d Sicher said.
\nIsrael formally declared war Sunday as it bombarded the Gaza strip with airstrikes in retaliation for a major surprise attack by Hamas. The US air lines normally operate direct service from major US metropolitan areas including New York, Chicago, Washington, DC and Miami.
\nIn a statement, United said it had operated two scheduled flights to the United States from Israel late Saturday and early Sunday but that service would remain suspended \u201cuntil conditions allow them to resume.\u201d
\nDelta representatives said they were monitoring the situation to make schedule adjustments as necessary but that flights \u201chave been canceled into this week.\u201d
\nHowever, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Israel\u2019s second international airport at Eilat, a tourist destination on the Red Sea.
\nAnd Israeli flag carrier El Al said Sunday that it was maintaining its Tel Aviv flights for now, though some flights operated by foreign partners had been canceled.
\nEl Al said it was operating \u201cin accordance with the instructions of the Israeli security forces,\u201d with all flights now departing only from Terminal Three at Ben Gurion.
\nLike most other airlines, it said clients could change their tickets without charge.
\nIn Athens, the foreign ministry said it was working to repatriate 149 Greek tourists from Israel, and 81 of them were due to arrive back late Sunday on an El Al flight.
\nAfter Saturday saw a list of major carriers canceling flights, Spain\u2019s AENA airports operator told AFP four of nine flights scheduled to Tel Aviv on Sunday had been canceled, two from Madrid and two from Barcelona.
\nAnother nine flights, from Tel Aviv to airports in Spain, have so far been unaffected, the operator said.
\nSpain\u2019s Air Europa said it had canceled its two flights scheduled between Madrid and Tel Aviv, while Iberia Express, the low-cost arm of national carrier Iberia, went ahead with a Madrid-Tel Aviv flight after suspending two on Saturday.
\nVueling, the Barcelona-based low-cost airline, said given the situation in Israel, \u201cflights to\/from Tel Aviv are affected and experiencing delays.\u201d
\nA spokesman for Germany\u2019s Lufthansa on Saturday cited \u201cthe current security situation\u201d to say it was canceling all flights to and from Tel Aviv \u201cup until and including Monday.\u201d
\nAir France said it had halted Tel Aviv flights \u201cuntil further notice,\u201d and the Air France-KLM group\u2019s low-cost carrier Transavia said it was canceling all flights from Paris and Lyon to Tel Aviv up to and including Monday.
\nItaly\u2019s flag-carrier ITA airways canceled its flight until Sunday morning at the earliest \u201cto protect the safety of passengers and crew,\u201d while Polish carrier LOT scrapped its flights from the Polish capital on Saturday.
\nUS-based United Airlines told AFP its Tel Aviv flights \u201cwill remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume.\u201d
\nIt said it had \u201coperated two scheduled flights out of Tel Aviv late Saturday and early Sunday and accommodated our customers, crews and employee travelers who were at the airport.\u201d
\nOther airlines suspending flights included Aegean, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air and Air Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS\/NEW YORK Several international air carriers said on Sunday they had suspended flights serving Tel Aviv in light of the Hamas militant attack on Israel and were waiting for conditions to improve before resuming service. US air carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they had suspended direct flights. Air France, Lufthansa, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-360620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n