Ben-Gurion Airport is in a War Zone

There will be no letter from Sderot today by our Israeli correspondent MC. He says he has been losing too much sleep writing all those updates from the border with Gaza.

In the meantime, the continuous rain of rockets from Gaza has impacted international air travel to Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Here’s what The New York Times reported a little while ago:

F.A.A. Bans U.S. Airline Flights to Tel Aviv for 24 Hours

Major American airlines stopped flying to Israel on Tuesday after a rocket fell near Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, and the Federal Aviation Administration told the carriers not to fly to Tel Aviv for 24 hours.

All three United States carriers with service to Israel — Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways — said they had temporarily suspended their flights. The move highlighted the impact of the conflict in Gaza on the Israeli economy at the height of the summer tourism season.

It also came at a time when airlines around the globe appeared to be much more sensitive about the risks of flying over conflict areas, following the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner over eastern Ukraine last week.

For the moment, European airlines are still operating their flights. British Airways, for instance, said it “continues to operate as normal” and is monitoring the situation closely.

However, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff reports that Lufthansa has also banned flights to Ben-Gurion.

3 thoughts on “Ben-Gurion Airport is in a War Zone

  1. Of course America will, as stooge to HAMAS, do as is dictated to. That’s why Hamas rejected the ceasefire and no one blamed it. And USA wants Israel to stop defending itself or blame it for everything. They DARE not blame the real perpetrator and criminal.
    When is the west going to return to logic and their senses? When did they lose their brains collectively and was replaced by democracy/Islam servility. ?

  2. While driving, I tuned in to John Batchelor on radio, broadcasting from Jerusalem. When I tuned in he was interviewing an Israeli who sounded authoritative and knowledgable–I don’t know who it was.

    He said that the closing of Ben Gurion airport was a despicable act on the part of the Obama Administration. Because it was a strike at the economy of Israel and, in effect, is imposing severe economic sanctions against Israel in an attempt to pressure Israel to give in to Hamas’s demands. The Obama Administration, in his view, was taking advantage of the downed Malaysian plane situation in order to have a rationale to do this. Never let a crisis go to waste.

    The Israelis themselves say that this ban is not necessary. And of course El Al is flying into and out of the airport.

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