European aviation regulators have told airlines to avoid flying over Israel and Lebanon at all altitudes until the end of October due to the “overall intensification of air strikes and degradation in the security situation” following Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a series of airstrikes on Beirut on Friday.
The European Air Safety Agency (EASA) said in a so-called ‘conflict zone information bulletin’ that there is currently a “high risk to civil aviation” as tensions between Hezbollah and Israel are ratcheted up to a new high.
“Considering the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, there is a high risk to civil aviation. The conflict involves rockets, missiles and drones launches from Lebanon with Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire, including systematic activation of air-defence systems,” the CZIB states.
“Hezbollah’s possession of all-altitude capable cruise and ballistic missiles, along with the deployment of air assets operating at various altitudes, increases the risk of misidentification and miscalculation.”
The bulletin continued: “Additionally, cruise missiles and military-grade weaponised drones launched by Hezbollah allies create additional concerns for the safety of airspace in the region.”
Tel Aviv was targeted by a cruise missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday night, although the Israel Defense Forces managed to shoot it down at high altitude before it reached the country’s most populous city.
Until now, EASA has cleared airlines to continue operating flights to Israel because it was confident that its aviation authorities were able to effectively manage the potential risks to commercial airliners.
However, Saturday’s bulletin warns that “it is considered that the current intensity of the conflict represents an overall high risk to civil aviation.”
Many European airlines had already suspended flights to Israel and Lebanon and were avoiding overflying airspace in the region due to the escalation in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Lufthansa Group has canned all flights to Tel Aviv until October 14 at the earliest, while British Airways says it has suspended services to Israel until further notice.
European low-cost carrier EasyJet has decided to suspend flights to Tel Aviv until March 2025, while Ryanair hopes to resume its flights to the Israeli city at the end of October.
Air France had been operating flights to Tel Aviv from its Paris hub between September 21 and September 27, but the airline has also now canceled flights to Israel for the next two days.
Virgin Atlantic had been hoping to resume its London Heathrow to Tel Aviv service on September 25 after nearly a year’s absence, but the carrier has been forced to push back the start date due to the current security situation in the region.
