Several major airlines have suspended flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv after EU officials issued a warning against operating any flights in Israeli and Lebanese airspaces due to Israeli air strikes intensifying in those areas.
The European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) bulletin comes amid an escalation of violence in the region, including the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a targeted Israeli air strike on Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Friday night.
Emirates cancelled all flights to and from Beirut until Tuesday 1 October and Etihad Airways has cancelled all daily flights until Monday 30 September. Flydubai, Air Arabia, Cyprus Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Pegasus, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways have also temporarily suspended flights to Beirut.
Flights out of Beirut are largely sold out until the end of the weekend as floods of people are attempting to flee the city.
Emirates said in a statement: “The safety of our crew and customers is of utmost importance and will not be compromised.”
Qatar Airways said: “Due to the ongoing situation in Lebanon, Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport until September 25.”
Air France suspended all its Beirut flights until Tuesday 1 October, due to the “security situation”. However, it said flights to and from Tel Aviv, after a period of suspension last week, resumed normal operations this week.
Germany’s Lufthansa had already suspended flights to Beirut flights and it has now extended the suspension to Saturday 26 October with flights to and from Tel Aviv and Tehran, suspended up until Monday 14 October.
It said it was continuing to “monitor the situation closely and will assess it further in the coming days”.
Egyptair said it was suspending all of its flights to Beirut indefinitely until the conflict had stabilised. The Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission said on Monday that Royal Jordanian Airlines flights to Beirut had been suspended until further notice.
The EASA said it will review its warning against airlines operating “at all flight levels” in the region on Thursday 31 October.
It said: “An overall intensification of air strikes and degradation in the security situation has been noted, impacting the safety of airspace over Israel and Lebanon.
“We are closely monitoring the situation to assess if risks to EU aircraft operators are increasing or decreasing.”
The US Department of State has also told employees and their families at its Beirut embassy to leave the country as major airlines cancelled all flights in the region after Israel killed Hezbollah’s leader.
On Saturday The US Department of State ordered some consulates and their eligible family members to leave Lebanon.
It said in a statement: “US Embassy Beirut personnel are restricted from personal travel without advance permission.
“Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. personnel under Chief of Mission security responsibility, with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.”
The advisory covered eligible family members as well as non-essential employees. The State Department also urged any other US citizens in Lebanon to leave, warning the currently limited options to depart might become unavailable if the security situation worsened.
“The US embassy strongly encourages US citizens in Southern Lebanon, near the borders with Syria, and or in refugee settlements to depart those areas immediately,” it said.
Several governments, including the US, UK, France and Ireland, have issued warnings urging their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.
On Saturday the Government said it was ready to evacuate up to 5,000 British nationals from Lebanon as the Israeli attacks increase.
The Foreign Office has warned British nationals to leave Lebanon immediately, with Foreign Minister David Lammy saying the Government has worked to “increase flights and secure seats”.
It is understood the UK Government has successfully asked airlines to increase capacity on routes out of Lebanon, with Foreign Office teams in Beirut to support British consulate services.
It is thought they are ready to facilitate evacuations by sea or air, which could be triggered if the security environment deteriorates further and British nationals are no longer able to leave the Middle East through other routes.
Around 700 extra troops were moved to the UK’s airbase in Cyprus earlier this week. Experts have told i they expect British Armed Forces will be able to mount an airlift or amphibious evacuation to rescue thousands of stranded UK citizens.
