After Iran’s major attack on Israel, Israeli airspace was reopened early on Sunday. Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv is functioning normally once more, Israeli media reported. Various flights were stopped during the night because of the attack. The airspace was closed for seven hours. Ramon Airport in the south should remain closed for the time being, it was said.
The Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary AUA canceled several flights because of the Iranian attack. The night flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv, OS 859, was supposed to take off at 11:10 p.m. but was postponed to 6:40 a.m. However, it will probably not be carried out due to the closure of Israeli airspace, which means that the passengers on the return flight (Tel Aviv-Vienna, OS 860) are stranded in Israel for the time being. According to information from Vienna-Schwechat Airport, this flight was also canceled for Monday. In addition, the two flights from Vienna to Tel Aviv on Sunday (OS857 at 10 a.m. and OS859 at 11:10 p.m.) were listed as canceled.
Wizz Air Malta’s two connections between Vienna and Tel Aviv on Sunday were also canceled, according to the Ben Gurion Airport website. On the other hand, a flight from the Israeli airline El Al to Vienna was scheduled to take place on Sunday followingnoon. The departure time was given as 5:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. CEST).
As AUA spokeswoman Sophie Matkovits confirmed to the aviation magazine “Austrian Wings”, the AUA will also close the destinations Amman (Jordan) and Erbil (Kurdish province in Iraq) until at least April 15th. “The safety of our guests and crews is always our top priority,” emphasized Matkovits. The flights to Tehran were therefore suspended on April 12th.
In addition, all Lufthansa Group flights will fly around the airspace over Israel, Jordan and Iraq until further notice, as the company further announced upon request. Flights that were already in the air last night were rerouted to new routes. According to the information, Lufthansa had already decided on Friday to fly around Iranian airspace up to and including Thursday and thus temporarily suspend flight connections to Tehran. The night flights to Tel Aviv were also suspended for the coming nights as a precaution.
