An AUA spokeswoman confirmed a corresponding online report from the aviation magazine “Austrianwings” in response to an APA inquiry. However, the situation was never critical. It was a precautionary measure due to the unclear security situation in the Middle East.
The AUA parent company Lufthansa also cancelled a connecting flight from Cyprus to Tel Aviv overnight for safety reasons. The plane had previously landed from Munich at Larnaca airport as planned and then flown to Israel with a new crew, a company spokesperson said according to dpa. However, this connecting flight was cancelled because Iran had temporarily closed its airspace in the early hours of the morning. Lufthansa therefore did not consider the safety of the flights to Tel Aviv to be guaranteed.
Crisis team assesses situation
According to the spokeswoman, an Austrian Airlines crisis team is meeting today, Thursday, to assess the situation for AUA flights to Tel Aviv and for overflights in the region.
After the targeted killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday morning, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly wants a direct attack on Israel. On Thursday, Israel also declared the military chief of the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, Mohammed Deif, dead.
Previously, the killing of a Hezbollah commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut had also led to extreme tension in the Middle East. According to media reports, the Israeli army is on high alert in anticipation of possible retaliatory strikes following the attacks in Beirut and Tehran.
