The devastation of commercial air routes and tourism to the Middle East is set to continue into spring 2025, amid rising political tensions, as the post-October-2023 leg of the conflict spreads to Lebanon and Iran. As well as the cost to human lives, ongoing military operations have seen Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport brought to a standstill to allow the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to shoot down drones over the Mediterranean, as well as direct missile attacks that have closed Israeli airspace.
Around 30 airlines have already cancelled or suspended flights to areas threatened by the war, following official travel advisories including from the UK government and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) warning against non-essential travel to the regions.
Latest schedule updates
With a number of previously imposed suspensions up for review at the end of October and November, airlines have been monitoring the risks and updating their policies.
Lufthansa Group announced on 23 October there would be no flights to Tehran and Beirut until early next year “for operational reasons.” Its Tehran route will not recommence until 1 February 2025 at the earliest, while Beirut will not be served until 1 March. Under the Lufthansa umbrella come SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings.
British Airways announced two days after Lufthansa that all its flights to Israel are off until March 2025 and that refunds would be made available to affected passengers. The story is similar for US airlines American and Delta, as well as carriers as diverse as Cathay Pacific, EasyJet, and Transavia.
Who will be updating their schedules soon?
Air France is due to resume flights to Israel on 29 October, so a press release may be imminent, and IAG’s update is past due. Meanwhile, Aegean, Bulgaria Air, and Iberia Express flights, currently suspended, are also up for review in the next week, while Air Baltic, ITA and Lot should be updating their current flight cancellations before the end of November.
Airlines that will be reassessing their current safety bans on Israel flights before the end of December 2024, are KLM and Air Canada.
And up for review before the end of January 2025, are SWISS flights to Beirut, Wizz Air flights to Israel, as well as Vueling, and Ryanair (though the latter’s website does not appear to allow bookings through to April).
Until further notice
Airlines whose schedules to the region remain suspended indefinitely as of the time of writing include: Air Algerie, Air India, Croatia Airlines, Emirates, FlyDubai, Icelandair, Korean Air, TAP, and United.
