Hamas-Israel conflict: International air disruption, postponement of Israel-related matches

SGGPO 10/09/2023 09:34

Hamas-Israel conflict disrupts international air traffic to and from Tel Aviv; UEFA postpones Israel-related matches by 2 weeks.

On October 8, more international airlines announced the postponement of flights to and from Tel Aviv amid escalating conflicts between the Hamas Islamist movement and Israel.

Accordingly, after American Airlines, other US airlines such as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have announced the postponement of direct flights to/from Tel Aviv. US airlines often operate direct flights from major cities in the country such as New York, Chicago, Washington DC and Miami to Tel Aviv.

In a new announcement, United Airlines said it had operated two flights from Israel to the US on the afternoon of October 7 and the morning of October 8, but that service would be suspended until conditions allowed.

Similarly, Delta Airlines representatives said they are monitoring the situation to make appropriate schedule adjustments, but some flights have been canceled.

In addition to the US, Spanish airlines such as Vueling and Air Europa also announced that flights to and from Tel Aviv were delayed due to the current situation.

Airlines such as Swiss International Airlines (Switzerland), Austrian Airlines (Austria), Wizz Air (Hungary) and Air Canada also suspended flights to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv until the situation improves.

Meanwhile, on October 8, Israel's leading airline El Al announced that it was operating under the guidance of the country's security forces. All of its flights are currently departing from Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Like most other airlines, El Al is also allowing passengers to change their tickets without charge.

In a related development, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has decided to postpone all scheduled matches in Israel for the next two weeks. According to the Israel Football Association (IFA), the qualifying match between Israel and Switzerland scheduled to take place at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv on October 12 will be postponed. The matches between Israel and Estonia and Germany in the qualifying round of the 2025 European Under-21 Championship or the matches in the qualifying round of the 2024 U-17 Championship involving hosts Israel, Belgium, Gibraltar and Wales will also not be able to take place as scheduled.

UEFA will announce the new schedule and will need a few days to assess whether the Euro 2024 qualifier between Kosovo and Israel on October 15 can go ahead.

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