KLM cancels flights to Tel Aviv until October 26, avoids Israeli airspace

KLM has decided to suspend all flights to and from Tel Aviv for an extended period. The airline announced that it will not fly to the Israeli city until October 26. Previously, the airline had already canceled all flights to Tel Aviv in July and August. KLM is also currently not flying over Israel, Iran, and Iraq, said a spokesperson.

The Dutch airline resumed flights in April after suspending them to Tel Aviv following the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 and the war in Gaza. A month later, however, KLM decided to suspend flights to Tel Aviv again "due to the ongoing unrest."

Tensions in the Middle East have recently intensified again following a rocket attack on an Israeli town in the Golan Heights on Saturday. This week, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran in an attack on his home. "We are continuing to monitor the situation. Customers with flight tickets to and from Tel Aviv and a travel date during this period will be rebooked or receive a refund," the KLM spokesperson reports.

However, the Israeli airlines El Al and Arkia still operate flights from Schiphol to Tel Aviv.

Several airlines have recently canceled flights to Israel. Lufthansa announced on Thursday that it is suspending all flights to Tel Aviv until August 8. Transavia will no longer fly to Tel Aviv until the end of March next year.

Following the rocket attack on Saturday, several airlines also decided to stop flying to Lebanon. Transavia canceled all flights to Beirut, including from Schiphol Airport, until Monday, August 5. Until recently, the airline was the only one flying from Schiphol to Beirut.

Furthermore, due to the situation in Jordan, Transavia has also canceled flights to and from Amman until November 3.

There were also attacks in Iran this week. Several airlines are now avoiding Iranian airspace. Singapore Airlines, for example, appears to have stopped using Iranian airspace since Friday, reports the news agency Reuters, citing data from Flightradar24. Other airlines that continue to fly over Iran include Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and FlyDubai.

Air France has not flown through Iranian airspace for some time and recently decided to stop using Lebanese and Israeli airspace as well, a spokeswoman for the French airline said.