Israel flights to resume after ban lifted by US authorities
Flights to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv have been allowed to resume by US air regulators lifting a ban on air travel to the country it opposed on Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) lifted its restrictions after assessing the security situation in the country it said in a statement.
“Before making this decision, the FAA worked with its U.S. government counterparts to assess the security situation in Israel and carefully reviewed both significant new information and measures the Government of Israel is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation.”
The FAA said it would continue to closely monitor the “very fluid situation” in the country and take additional action if necessary.
The ban was imposed after a rocket strike close by to the airport with a number of European carriers following suit by cancelling flights to Ben Gurion.
Although the ban has been lifted, individual US airlines will make a decision about whether its flights should be resumed. Delta chief executive Richard Anderson yesterday told reporters even if the ban was lifted by the FAA the airline "still may not go in depending on what the facts and circumstances are."
Europe's major airlines Lufthansa, Air France and EasyJet have yet to announce whether they will resume flights to Israel following the FAA's decision.