All U.S. airlines ordered to stop flying to Tel Aviv
The FAA has banned U.S. airlines from flying to or from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport for up to 24 hours.
The Federal Aviation Administration prohibited U.S. airlines from flying to or from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport after a rocket strike was reported one mile from the Israeli airport Tuesday morning.
The flight ban could last up to 24 hours, the FAA said in a statement, but State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters that there is a possibility the FAA could extend the ban.
Delta Air Lines rerouted Flight 468, a Boeing 747 traveling from New York to Tel Aviv, to Paris on Tuesday morning.
United Airlines also canceled flights, according to a company statement.
Other non-U.S. airlines that have canceled flights to the airport include Lufthansa, Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, KLM and Air France. The European Aviation Safety Agency released a statement saying it “strongly recommends” airlines refrain from flying to or from Tel Aviv, the Associated Press reported.
Sheryl Stein, a spokeswoman for Israel’s El Al, said the airline’s scheduled flights will continue as planned.
“We have been maintaining our service as the national airline of Israel,” Stein said.
El Al has as many as four flights a day from the United States to Israel.
Dov Aloof, a high school senior from Israel who was visiting New Jersey this summer, said Tuesday that he had planned to fly back to Tel Aviv on Thursday night until Delta canceled his flight.
“I did want more time in the United States but not like this,” he said. “I find out I can’t go home until God knows when.”
Reach Matt at matt.hansen2@latimes.com or @mtthnsn. Reach Annalise at annalise.mantz@latimes.com or @asmantz
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