Flights again halted to Israel after Houthi missile lands near airport

JERUSALEM: European and US carriers cancelled flights for the next several days after a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main international travel gateway.

Many foreign airlines subsequently suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv after the missile hit, sending a plume of smoke into the air and causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.

Following a ceasefire deal with Palestinian group Hamas in January, foreign carriers had begun to resume flights to Israel after halting them for much of the last year and a half since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

That left flag carrier El Al Airlines - along with smaller rivals Arkia and Israir - with a near monopoly. El Al’s shares rose 7%, while Israir gained 4.1% in a flat broader Tel Aviv market on Sunday.

Delta Air Lines said it cancelled Sunday’s flight from JFK in New York to Tel Aviv and the return flight from Tel Aviv on Monday. United cancelled its twice daily flights between Tel Aviv and Newark while it monitors the situation.

Earlier, flights from Tel Aviv on Delta and United on Sunday morning departed about 90 minutes late.

Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels and Austrian, said it had halted flights to and from Tel Aviv through Tuesday due to the current situation.

ITA said it had cancelled flights from Italy to Israel through Wednesday, while Air France cancelled flights on Sunday, saying customers were transferred to flights on Monday. TUS flights to and from Cyprus were cancelled through Monday, while Air India flights from New Delhi were halted on Sunday.

Ryanair suspended flights on Sunday but flights are still scheduled for Monday, according to the Israel Airports Authority. Wizz also halted flights.

“I’m afraid it’s going to be very difficult to go back to France because all European carriers, from what I see on the information (board), have cancelled. Lufthansa have cancelled, Swiss have cancelled, Brussels (Airlines), so no connection is possible,” said Michael Sceemes, 56, whose Air France flight was cancelled.

Aegean, flydubai and Ethiopian did not cancel flights.

El Al said it would reintroduce rescue flights to Israel from Larnaca and Athens for passengers stranded by foreign carriers at a cost of $99 and $149, respectively.

Udi Bar Oz, head of Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was up and running less than 30 minutes after the missile hit a road nearby.

Claiming responsibility for the strike, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said Israel’s main airport was “no longer safe for air travel”.

The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, began targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping in late 2023, during the early days of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald Trump in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to the Houthis. “We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future ... There will be more blows,” he said.