On Friday, Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport faced an unprecedented shutdown, leading to the cancellation of all flights and leaving the once-bustling terminal empty of passengers. The announcement, made early Wednesday morning by the Israel Airports Authority, signaled an impending closure of the airport. They pointed to increased military bombings in and on Iran as their justification for this extreme measure.
Even with the airport shut down, numerous foreign flights departed Tel Aviv in the Israeli army’s early morning hours. Numerous planes were forced to divert to radar-less, nearby Cyprus. By mid-morning that day, as flight-tracking site Flightradar24 reported, the airspace over Israel was all but devoid of such commercial flights. This disruption has been part of a wider regional crisis that has wreaked havoc on air traffic all across the continent.
The response snowballed almost overnight, with over 1,800 flights affected all across Europe by the outbreak of the conflict. Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport took the hardest hit, with real-time data indicating that commercial airlines were actively avoiding Israeli airspace. There’s the possibility that major airlines, like Lufthansa and Emirates, will continue to suspend their flights to and from Tel Aviv. Lufthansa is stopping operations through 31 July, while Emirates has stopped its flights through Sunday.
Israeli carriers El Al, Israir and Arkia moved their planes from Ben Gurion Airport to avoid attack. They made these defensive steps in advance of expected retaliatory strikes from Iran. This legislative move is a strong indication of the increased urgency and concern for safety in the Tri-State region.
Ben Gurion Airport closed at exactly the same moment that Mehrabad Airport in Tehran closed. This led to a historic shutdown of bilateral air traffic for both countries. These closures set off a chain reaction, forcing the cancellation of nearly 650 flights in and out of Europe. Consequently, travelers depending on connections through Israel found themselves hampered with even more complex itineraries.
As this unprecedented situation develops, travelers should stay informed on flight cancellations and other last-minute changes. These closures underscore how rapidly geopolitical tensions can upend air travel around the world. They serve to remind us of the capricious nature of the industry.
