The European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recommended that airlines not fly to Israel and Lebanon until October 31.
In a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB) issued yesterday, the European Aviation Safety Agency said: “The European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and its impact on civil aviation following the recent increase in military operations.” Exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah.
“A comprehensive intensification of air strikes and a deterioration in the security situation have been observed, affecting the integrity of the airspace over Israel and Lebanon.
“In this context, the European Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency decided to issue CZIB recommendations not to operate within the airspace of Lebanon and Israel at all flight levels. The recommendation is valid until October 31, 2024 and can be reviewed at an earlier date and amended or withdrawn and subject to revised evaluation.”
“EASA will continue to monitor the situation closely, with the aim of assessing whether there is an increase or decrease in risks for aircraft operators in the European Union as a result of the evolving threat,” the notice adds.
The background to CZIB is the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike in Beirut on Friday night, and threats of retaliation from Hezbollah itself and from Iran. Since the CZIB was issued, four European airlines have announced the suspension of their flights to Israel: Air Europa and Wizz Air, which restored service to Israel just a few days ago, as well as Bluebird Airlines, based in Heraklion in Greece, and TUS Airlines. It is based at Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus. The last two airlines are Israeli-owned, and have canceled their flights for the first time since the outbreak of war.
Before the operation that included the bombing of pagers and other communications equipment in Lebanon, there was a positive trend for airlines that restored their flights to Israel. For example, Lufthansa planned to increase the frequency of its flights to Israel and keep its crews overnight in Israel, and Virgin Atlantic planned to resume operations in Israel for the first time since October 7.
The European Aviation Safety Agency’s recommendation would lead to a significant change in the behavior of European airlines. So far, most airlines have canceled certain flights or suspended their flights for a specific short period. Aviation industry sources say airlines are now vulnerable to longer flight suspensions, and that the CZIB will directly impact the cost of aircraft insurance.
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The impact will be amplified by the upcoming Jewish holiday season, with peak travel days expected to be October 1, 6, 10 and 13, when between 74,000 and 77,000 people are expected to gather at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport each day. Canceling flights on these days will leave many Israelis abroad unable to return home, and additional demand will be placed on Israeli airlines, along with the few foreign airlines still active in Israel, whose planes were almost completely full during holiday period even before the current wave of cancellations.
El Al announced that its flight schedule is operating as usual, but that it has no places on flights to and from Israel during the next few days. “We are working to consolidate the flight schedule as much as possible, and we recommend passengers whose flights to Israel have been canceled to fly to Athens or Larnaca and register with their travel agencies to get on the waiting list for return flights to Israel.”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on September 29, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
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