National

Air India Tel Aviv Flights, Stopped Till Aug 8, Now Suspended Till Further Notice

In view of the current situation in parts of the Middle East, scheduled operation of our flights to and from Tel Aviv are suspended with immediate effect until further notice, Air India said on Friday.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Air India flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel suspended
Air India flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel suspended Photo: File image
info_icon

Air India, which stopped flights to Israel's Tel Aviv till August 8 amid tensions in the Middle East, on Friday announced that scheduled operation of its flights to and from there are suspended till further notice.

Air India offered a full refund to passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv.

"In view of the current situation in parts of the Middle East, scheduled operation of our flights to and from Tel Aviv are suspended with immediate effect until further notice. We are continuously monitoring the situation and are offering a full refund to our passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv. Safety of our guests and crew remains our topmost priority," Air India said in a post on X.

Air India announced on August 2 that it is suspending till August 8 all flights to and from Tel Aviv due to tensions in the Middle East.

Air India also shared their customer care details for further information, "Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority. For more information, please call our 24/7 Contact Centre at 011-69329333 / 011-69329999."

Air India runs four flights each week between Delhi and Tel Aviv.

Earlier this year also, Air India had briefly suspended flights to Tel Aviv at different points of time due to the Middle East tensions.

Middle East Tensions

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated lately, sparking fears of a full-blown regional war, following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Iran.

In the latest development in the Middle East tensions, three suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait linking the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, including one that saw private security guards shoot and destroy a bomb-loaded drone boat, authorities said Friday.

The Houthis did not immediately claim the assaults, though they follow a monthslong campaign by the rebels targeting shipping through the Red Sea corridor over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Iran, which blamed Israel for Haniyeh's assassination and vowed revenge, backs the Houthis as part of what it calls a regional “Axis of Resistance.”

After Haniyeh's killing, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed on August 1 that Israel killed a top commander - Fuad Shukr - in a rare strike in Beirut.

The Iran-backed group said earlier that Fuad Shukr was in the building during the attack on Tuesday, and they were searching for him in the rubble to determine his fate.