Air India suspends flights to and from Israel's Tel Aviv till April 30 amid Iran conflict

INDIA'S premier airline Air India on Friday (19) suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel till April 30 in view of the current flare-up in the Middle East as Iran and Israel renewed their rivalry.

In a pinned post on X, the airline said, "Our flights to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended until 30th April 2024, in view of the emerging situation in the Middle East. We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers, who have confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges. We would like to reiterate that at Air India, the safety of our customers and crew remains top priority."

The airline also urged its customers to get in touch with its customer care at 011-69329333/011-69329999 or visit its website https://airindia.com for more updates.

Read: India's Dubai mission launches helpline numbers to aid Indians hit by extreme rain

Earlier this week, the Indian civil aviation ministry had asked the country's airlines to conduct their respective risk assessment on international flight operations amid growing tensions in the Middle East

Several airlines decided to change flight paths over Iran and either diverted planes to alternate airports or returned them to their point of origin on Friday after reports claimed that Israel launched a counter strike against Iran, flight tracking data showed.

Read: Israel launched counter strike on Iran, claim US media

Though it was not confirmed by either side, American sources claimed that Israel launched an attack on a site in Iran in retaliation to the latter's air strikes on Israeli targets last weekend. The attacks took place two weeks after an Iranian diplomatic building was destroyed in suspected Israeli airstrikes in Damascus in Syria.

Many carriers from the West and Asia have chosen to avoid Iranian airspace before the Israeli attack.

Germany's Lufthansa will continue to suspend its flights to Tehran until the end of April, citing ongoing security concerns, Business Today reported.

Australia's Qantas Airways said it was redirecting flights between Perth and London, adding a fuel stop in Singapore as it skipped Iranian airspace.

Taiwan's China Airlines said that it "continues to pay attention to the situation as it develops and plans the most appropriate routes in accordance with the recommendations of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency".

Etihad Airways said it "continuously monitors security and airspace updates, safety is always our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so", the Business Today report added.

In another post, Air India, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata Group, also confirmed cancellation of flights from Dubai in the UAE due to extreme rain earlier this week.

"We regret to inform cancellation of its flights to and from Dubai due to continued operational disruptions at Dubai Airport. We are doing our best to get affected customers on their way by re-accommodating them on flights as soon as operations resume. Customers booked on our flights with valid tickets for travel till 21st April 2024 will be offered a one-time waiver on rescheduling and full refunds for cancellation," it said in a post on X.