File photo of Liege Airport, Belgium, March 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Several major European airlines announced on Sunday that their flights to and from Israel and Lebanon were suspended due to the escalation of hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries.
Brussels, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — Several major European airlines announced on Sunday that they would suspend their flights to and from Israel and Lebanon due to the escalation of hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries.
According to the French news channel BFMTV, Air France plans to suspend its flights to Tel Aviv in Israel and Beirut in Lebanon until at least Monday due to the rising tension in the region.
“Today and tomorrow flights are cancelled,” an Air France spokesman announced, noting that this suspension could be extended after a new assessment of the situation on Monday.
British Airways also announced that flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel would be suspended until Wednesday.
“Due to the escalation of the situation in the region, Wizz Air is temporarily suspending its flights to and from Israel on August 25,” the Hungarian budget airline said on its website.
Greek airline Aegean Airlines canceled several flights to Israel and Beirut on Sunday. Its official website showed that three flights to Tel Aviv and two flights to Beirut were cancelled, including one on Monday.
German airline giant Lufthansa has extended the suspension of its flights to Beirut until September 30, and to Tel Aviv and Tehran until September 2.
Israeli and Hezbollah forces engaged in intense exchanges of fire on Sunday morning along the Israeli-Lebanese border, marking a significant escalation in their long-standing tensions.
Hezbollah said it launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the death of its commander Fouad Shokor, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last month. In response, Israel said it carried out several pre-emptive airstrikes against Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.
Following heavy exchanges of fire between the two sides in the Middle East, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and British Defense Minister John Healey both contacted their respective counterparts in Israel on Sunday, calling for a ceasefire in the region, they said expressed on X (formerly Twitter).