Airlines droop flights to Israel amid airstrikes on Lebanon
- Airlines have suspended flights to the Middle East amid growing tension
- There are fears that Israel and Hezbollah might begin an all-out war
- Has your flight been affected: Email [email protected]
A major war in the Middle East is ‘a real danger’, a Cabinet minister has warned following an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah overnight.
Early on Sunday, the Israeli military launched what it described as ‘pre-emptive’ strikes against the militant group in southern Lebanon, saying it had detected plans to attack Israel.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group based in southern Lebanon, itself launched a series of drones against targets in Israel, saying it was acting in response to the killing of one of its top commanders in an air strike on Beirut last month.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK is ‘very concerned’ by the escalation.
‘Even as this unfolds, the UK Government and the international community would urge all parties not to escalate further and to avoid a major regional war. That is the real danger facing the area,’ he said.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the border in Lebanon, pictured an Israeli bombing attack outside Zibquin, Lebanon
In Tyre, Lebanon, people are enjoying the good weather on the beach despite the bombing
In Lebanon’s main airport in Beirut, travellers have been discommoded after airlines cancelled flights due to the threat posed by the repeated missile strikes
‘We hope this doesn’t turn out to be that and we hope that afterwards we can de-escalate the situation.’
British ministers have been involved in an international diplomatic effort to avoid further escalation to the conflict between Israel and Hamas that erupted following the terrorist group’s attack on Israel last October.
Since coming to office last month, new Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey have visited the region, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned Iran’s president in a phone call this month not to attack Israel.
Iran supports both Hamas and Hezbollah and has previously expressed a desire to make Israel ‘regret’ an air strike on Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Sunday’s outbreak of hostilities came as Egypt is hosting another round of talks aimed at securing an end to the conflict in Gaza.
Reports from the region suggest there have been no further strikes following the initial exchange of fire early on Sunday, but the situation remains tense.
British Airways and Wizz Air have cancelled flights to Tel Aviv in response to the strikes and Virgin Atlantic has delayed the resumption of flights to Israel following a ‘security and safety’ assessment.
British Airways flights are not set to resume until Thursday at the earliest, while a Virgin Atlantic spokesman said the airline will not resume daily flights until at least September 25.
Virgin Atlantic has announced it will extend the suspension of its flights to Israel after a ‘security and safety assessment’, as hostilities in the Middle East escalated overnight.
The airline will resume its daily flight in both directions between Heathrow and Tel Aviv from September 25.
It had been one of many carriers which suspended flights to Israel in October last year, after the start of the country’s conflict with Hamas.
Wizz Air and British Airways resumed operations to the country in March and April, respectively.
Flights operated by Virgin Atlantic had been due to restart on September 5.
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire over the Lebanese border, pictured a Hezbollah drone being destroyed by the Israeli air force
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK is ‘very concerned’ by the escalation of tension between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah
The delay comes after the Israeli military said it had launched ‘pre-emptive’ strikes against the militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Sunday.
British Airways flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv were cancelled between Sunday and Tuesday, according to the airline’s online flight status tool, with subsequent journeys showing up as ‘re-routed’.
The airline has been approached for comment.
A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said on Sunday: ‘Following the latest security and safety assessment and after careful consideration we have taken the difficult decision to delay the restart of our Tel Aviv services.
‘Daily flights are now planned to resume on 25 September from London to Tel Aviv. We’d like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused.
‘Our teams will be in contact with anyone affected to discuss options, which include rebooking to a later date or a full refund and in the meantime, customers can benefit from our partnership with EL AL which operates multiple daily flights between Heathrow and Ben Gurion Airport.
‘We remain committed to our services to Israel and look forward to resuming flights to Tel Aviv as soon as the situation permits.’
The resumed flights between London and Tel Aviv will use an Airbus A330 aircraft, the airline said.
British Airways has suspended its flights between London and Tel Aviv following an overnight escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.
A spokesperson for the airline said on Sunday: ‘We’ve been continually monitoring the situation in the Middle East and have taken the operational decision to suspend our flights to and from Tel Aviv up to and including Wednesday, 28 August.
‘Safety is always our top priority, and we’re contacting customers to advise them of their travel options.’
Wizz Air said it has suspended flights to and from Israel because of ‘the escalating situation in the region’.
A Wizz Air spokesperson said on Sunday: ‘Due to the escalating situation in the region, Wizz Air is temporarily suspending flights to and from Israel on 25 August.
The airline said affected passengers are being offered a full refund, free rebooking or ‘a 120% refund in Wizz credits’.
‘If passengers booked through an online travel agency or another third party they should reach out to them to receive the refund or rebook to a different flight,’ the spokesperson added.
