FAA Suspends Flights From U.S. to Israel
Flights halted for 24 hours after Hamas rocket lands near Ben Gurion airport
July 22, 2014
(Lukas Rebec / Shutterstock.com)
The Federal Aviation Administration has halted all U.S. flights to Israel Tuesday for a 24 hour period after a Hamas rocket landed about a mile from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
“The FAA immediately notified U.S. carriers when the agency learned of the rocket strike and informed them that the agency was finalizing [the notice],” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.”
Delta had to redirect an Israel-bound flight already in the air from New York’s JFK airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The plane was reportedly near Greece, and about two hours from Israel. United Airlines and U.S. Airways, the other two U.S. airlines that offer flights to Israel, have cancelled or redirected all scheduled flights to Israel.
According to the New York Times, European airlines are still operating flights to and from Ben Gurion airport.
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Stephanie Butnick is the founder of GOLDA, a Jewish lifestyle newsletter. She hosted the Tablet podcast Unorthodox, co-authored The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between, and worked as a writer and editor at Tablet.
