Airlines have begun canceling flights to Israel following Israeli attacks on Beirut and Tehran that killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Delta canceled flights to Israel from New York last night and today, while United Airlines, which operates twice-daily flights between New York and Tel Aviv, has canceled all flights to and from the occupied state through August 7.

Delta and United, like all foreign airlines, had previously suspended flights to and from Israel on October 7. United resumed flights in March but suspended them again in mid-April following the Iranian attack on Israel, before resuming them again on June 9. Delta renewed flights to Israel in June.

Lufthansa was the first airline to announce a change to its flight schedule to Israel on Wednesday, adding a stop in Larnaca, Cyprus, which it described as a technical stop, while flydubai halted its flights. Lufthansa, which also includes Swiss and Austrian Airlines, said it was canceling its overnight flights from Munich and Frankfurt to Ben Gurion Airport for the next two days. The airline cited “operational reasons” for the decision.

However, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that the pilot of the Lufthansa plane refused, on Thursday, in the middle of a flight heading to Israel, to land at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv "because the crew was not ready to fly to Israel."

"The plane, which was en route from Munich to Ben Gurion Airport in Cyprus, landed," Israel's Channel 12 reported. "The airline informed the passengers that the plane would land in Cyprus (Romania) for technical reasons, and then it would be determined whether the flight would continue to Israel, but after some time on the ground in Larnaca, it was announced that the plane would return to Germany," the channel continued. "The passengers were told that they could disembark in Cyprus if they wished, but their luggage would remain on the plane and be returned to Munich."

Following the attacks on Lebanon and Iran, Israeli airspace was closed yesterday morning for at least 24 hours. Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia and Israir say that business is proceeding as usual, and that no changes have been made to their schedules so far. Israir said, according to the Globes website, that it "continues to operate as usual according to the company's scheduled flights to Israel and is working in accordance with the instructions of the security authorities, and is in constant contact with the Civil Aviation Authority. Yesterday, about 40 flights took off to various destinations, and any changes or updates will be published on the website and on social media." Arkia also said that it "is currently continuing to operate as usual, and the company's planned flight schedule to Israel is proceeding as usual. The company is working in coordination with the directives of the aviation authorities and the security forces."

Currently, only about 50 foreign airlines operate in Israel due to the ongoing war and the unstable security situation, according to Calcalist. Among the companies that have stopped flying to Israel are the British low-cost giant EasyJet, Royal Jordanian, American Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus, Dutch airline KLM, Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong, Air Canada and others.