Al Monitor:
Rosaleen Carroll
Qatar Airways on Wednesday announced the suspension of its flights to and from Lebanon and Iran until further notice, joining a long list of airlines that have halted service to the two countries.
The Qatari airline cited the "current situation in the Middle East region" as the reason for their cancellation, referring to the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the impending Israeli strike on Iran.
Qatar Airways also announced it would operate flights to Amman, Jordan and Iraq only “during daylight hours.”
When Iran struck Israel with a barrage of at least 180 ballistic missiles on Oct. 1, missiles flew over up Jordanian and Iraqi airspace before reaching Israel — likely the reason behind Qatar Airways’ daytime-only flights.
The promised Israeli strike on Iran, a continued Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza and Israel’s ground invasion and bombing of Lebanon with the aim of eliminating Hezbollah have resulted in widespread cancellation of flights to the region.
Israel
British Airways, American Airlines and Delta Airlines have announced suspensions of their Israel flights until the end of March 2025. United Airlines has canceled flights to Israel until further notice.
The Netherlands’ KLM has suspended flights until the end of 2024. Germany’s Lufthansa Group — which includes Swiss, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — has cancelled flights until the end of October, along with Air France.
El Al, an Israeli airline, is the only airline operating direct flights between the United States and Israel; two UAE carriers, FlyDubai and Etihad Airways, have resumed flights as well.
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