Posted on 07/23/2014 9:43:23 PM PDT by Star Traveler
US flights to Israel to resume after brief ban. Will European carriers follow suit?
The US national aviation authority has lifted a ban on American flights to Israel, but warned of a "very fluid situation" amid intense fighting with Palestinians in nearby Gaza, AFP reports Thursday.
"Hamas does have rockets that can reach Ben Gurion airport... although the accuracy of their rockets does remain limited," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
Israel had warned of the economic impact of the ban by many world airlines and said that it would be a win for Hamas, who hailed the suspension as a "great victory."
Delta, United and US Airways all cancelled their scheduled flights for Wednesday, as did a raft of European carriers including Germany's Lufthansa, Air France, Poland's LOT and others. It is unclear as of now whether or not they will follow suit in lifting the ban.
(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
But for now it's good!
Old news, but it’s the background to this story ...
Air Canada cancels Tel Aviv flight over safety concerns
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3184119/posts?page=6#6
Air Canada has cancelled its scheduled flight to Tel Aviv from Toronto Tuesday night, following the lead of other airlines concerned about rocket fire near Ben Gurion Airport.
Air Canada had a flight scheduled to leave for Tel Aviv from Toronto at 6:10 p.m. ET. The airline will continue to evaluate the situation and provide updates as needed, a spokeswoman said.
The return flight to Toronto from Tel Aviv for Wednesday, July 23, has also been cancelled, the carrier confirmed.
In response to a CBC News query, Transport Canada said the suspensions of flights to Israel are decisions taken by airlines themselves.
“For more information you should contact the carriers directly,” senior communications adviser Ben Stanford said in an email to CBC News.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines also suspended flights to Israel indefinitely Tuesday after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near Tel Aviv’s airport, wounding one Israeli.
This was what Israel was facing before this ban was rescinded.
As the article says, it’s a “score” for Hamas, and that’s unfortunate, but these airlines were canceling flights on their own, even before the FAA ever uttered a word.
— — —
Israel Transportation Minister: Cancellation of Flights to Israel Gives a ‘Prize to Terror’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3183687/posts?page=35
On Tuesday, four major U.S. airline carriers announced their decision to cancel flights heading to Israel indefinitely, one specifically citing the danger of Gaza rocket attacks near Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.
Shortly afterwards, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it told all U.S. airlines that flights to the airport are prohibited for 24 hours, according to The Associated Press.
They wait till the end of the business day for this, but at least the ‘spell’ has been broken for now. Still, a precedent has now been set, meaning it could happen again, as I feel it will.
A quote from earlier today ...
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Lufthansa-Delta-extend-flight-bans-to-Israel-368616
Lufthansa, Delta, US Airways extend flight bans to Israel along with US Federal Aviation Administration along with most European airlines.
The FAA on Tuesday said it told US carriers they were prohibited from flying to or from Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for up to 24 hours, citing “the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza.” The FAA later extended the ban by another 24 hours on Wednesday evening.
The decision to halt flights to Israel follows the downing last week of a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine with nearly 300 aboard.
Germany’s Lufthansa on Wednesday suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv for an additional 24 hours. The decision also applies to Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines.
“At the present time no adequate authoritative new information is available that would justify a resumption of flights. In close coordination with the responsible authorities Lufthansa is continually evaluating the safety situation for its total flight network,” the company said.
It would only happen IF a rocket hits near the airport ... which is what prompted the airlines to stop flying a couple of days ago.
Let’s hope another rocket doesn’t get through!
israel has to take out all the enemy weapons, and KEEP them demilitarized. which means more effective border controls and inspections, etc...throughout the entire terror-tory...
like it or not.
it is not desirable but it sure beats letting the enemy re-arm yet again, and again, and again, and again, ad nauseum
also, letting the United Nazis or Obama or EU run the checkpounts and do the necessary inspections ... would be a loser, indeed a very thinly-disguised suicide pact for Israel. Obviously. would make a total waste, mockery of Israel’s brave defense effort.
Israel has to do these tasks herself, like it or not (and I am sure she won’t like it, but there it is nonetheless)
ok, that’s my 3 cents worth (allowing for this month’s inflation)
Dem party is afraid of losing a substantial portion of the Jewish money for its campaign.
Jews are seeing how hostile Dems are towards Israel.
Obama still funding Ham@ss and PLO and the FAA BDS of Israel flights was criticized rightly by Independent Bloomberg and Republican Cruz.
Must have been a lot of trouble when all the Rabbis who had their Israel vacation plans screwed up by Obama so he could try and twist BiBi’s arm.
Good work Bloomberg and Cruz.
This does not mean the FedGov doesn’t have unofficial pressure on the airlines to stay out “on their own”
I am glad the Pallies have not figured how to make a fuel-air explosive
Maybe Israel should make an example out of one of those airlines and ban them for a while
These weapons could easily get in through Syria, Jordan or other ways
I was thinking of the other one, not Gaza, lol
well, as you say there IS a problem with many Jews supporting Obama despite his obvious anti-Semitism, pro-IslamoNazi policies.
chalk this up to JSS (Jewish Suicide Syndrome).
talk with some of these folks and they are so brilliant about so many things, and yet so amazingly STUPID about the simple facts of just basic, elementary survival.
I’ve always said that Israel survives largely due to the active efforts of every good Christian; the Jews are a decimated people... and they are also fractured internally... (with a significant fraction afflicted , understandably, given all the hatred and mass murdering they’ve endured, with JSS).
Whatever our personal confessions, we all really must try to help Israel repel and eliminate her enemies.
and let’s pray that Hamas doesn’t manage to shoot off even one better rocket than they’ve managed so far....especially now that Obama has made Ben Gourion Airport the number one Hamas target of the hour...
El Al fares jump by up to 150% after foreign airlines cancel flights [Israel]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3184320/posts
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.606872
Within hours after most foreign airlines flying to Israel suspended flights, demand for seats on Israeli carriers — practically the only ones now left plying the routes — skyrocketed, and so did airfares.
El Al, which earlier this week said it expected that a wave of cancellation by people travelling into and out of Israel would depress its third-quarter revenues by as much as $50 million, denied it was taking advantage of the situation.
— — —
LOL ... I had to laugh at this one ... It looks like El Al saw a good thing and ran with it!
They’ve got a good map, too, showing all the countries that the FAA bans any flights to ... the countries are: Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, North Korea, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, D.R. Congo, Mali, Libya and Egypt. That’s quite a list and I didn’t know so many places were on the banned list.
This was a straight political “shot across thhe bow” message to Isreal to stop its attacks against Hamas or more to follow from our campaigner in chief.
See Post #3, #5 and #7 ...
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