Escalating conflict in Israel has prompted British Airways (LON:ICAG) and Virgin Atlantic to suspend their flights on the 2,233-mile journey between Heathrow and Tel Aviv. The decision was made after an Airbus A350 was forced to return to London near the end of its journey. Affected passengers are being offered full refunds or rebooking options.
On Wednesday, British Airways (BA) halted its limited service to and from Tel Aviv following an incident where flight BA165 had to turn back over the Mediterranean due to rocket attacks near Ben Gurion Airport. The attack was claimed by Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades in retaliation against Israeli actions on civilians. This incident occurred shortly before Foreign Secretary James Cleverly's visit to Israel, amidst broader conflict including Israeli strikes on Lebanon. BA, following other airlines like Ryanair (LON:0RYA), easyJet (LON:EZJ), and Wizz, is now offering full refunds or rebookings to affected customers.
Despite the majority of UK airlines suspending operations, Israeli airline El Al continues its service. Virgin Atlantic's final flight reached Tel Aviv around the same time as British Airways decided to turn back.
The escalating conflict in Israel has been described as an "active war zone" by OpsGroup, who evoked the MH17 disaster where all 298 passengers and crew died when a Buk anti-aircraft missile shot down the plane over a war zone.
In addition to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, Finnair has also suspended its operations until March 30, 2024 due to the unstable situation. Virgin Atlantic is still reviewing its flying programme in light of the situation.
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