First it was Delta and United Airlines who announced they were suspending service to Tel Aviv, due to the escalating tensions in the region.
Then Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Baltic, Air India, FlyDubia also suspended flights to Israel, for the same reason. Wizzair has joined the list. And there may be more.
Israel’s domestic airlines, Arkia and Israir have suspended their routine local flights between Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and Ilan Ramon Airport near Eilat, in order to prioritize service to stranded Israelis abroad following a wave of cancelations of flights to Israel by international carriers.
Israeli travelers worldwide are facing major problems trying to get home as the security situation continues to tighten, with international airlines canceling flights and offering few alternatives to their passengers. Some are also refusing to refund the cost of the tickets for the canceled flights.
Global travel to and from the Jewish State at this point is what Israelis refer to as a “balagan” — a mess, total chaos.
Here’s the story of one Israeli who has been affected by airline cancelations.
A 65-year-old female passenger with health issues who was visiting family in Latvia was informed this weekend by Air Baltic that the flight she had booked to return home to Israel was canceled.
Instead, she was offered a one-hour flight to London’s Gatwick Airport, with a 12-hour layover — no hotel or meal accommodation provided — during which she would also have to find a way to get from Gatwick to Heathrow Airport to catch her next flight, scheduled for 6:40 am the next day.
The flight from Heathrow would not be on Air Baltic — it was scheduled on British Airways — and would take her to Lanarca, Cyprus, not Israel, where she would endure another hours-long layover before finally boarding a British Airways flight to Israel.
A journey that under normal circumstances takes just a few hours would instead require this elderly woman to travel for at least two days with nowhere to rest, and no meals provided.
In the end, this passenger was lucky: she has a daughter-in-law who in the past worked as a travel agent and knew how to maneuver.
The young woman, Natalie, was able to convince Air Baltic to at least issue a full refund to the passenger. Her next challenge was finding a way to get her mother-in-law home.
“I spoke to El Al,” she told JewishPress.com. “Everyone has canceled. No one is flying here besides El Al. They are the only reliable ones.”
At the end, the elderly woman was booked on a Lufthansa flight from Riga to Germany, where she has a two-hour wait before boarding an El Al direct flight to Tel Aviv.
The total cost for the new route: 560 euros ($611).
Last week, the crew on a Lufthansa flight to Tel Aviv landed the plane in Cyprus and refused to go farther. Instead, the crew took the plane back to Germany after passengers were forced to disembark and find their own way back to Tel Aviv, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.
An Austrian Airlines flights en route to Tel Aviv reportedly turned around in mid-air and returned to Vienna.
El Al is flying its regular schedule thus far, one of only a handful who are continuing to maintain service.
British Airways, Ryanair, Blue Bird Airways and Air France are still flying on partial schedules, although changes are expected in the coming days.
“El Al operates in accordance with the security and aviation authorities and their instructions, and is in constant contact with them,” the airline said Sunday in a statement on the X social media platform.
“Currently our flight schedule is operating as normal. Ongoing updates will be available on our website and our social media channels,” the airline added.
