Hamas rocket triggers travel fears
By Kathryn A. Wolfe
U.S. airlines halted flights in and out of Israel on Tuesday following reports of a rocket attack, just days after a passenger jet was blasted out of the sky over Ukraine, setting travelers' nerves on edge during the busy summer travel season. In the span of barely a week, escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has disrupted international flights to Israel, and media coverage remains focused on questions surrounding the Malaysian airliner that was shot out of the sky, along with gruesome details about the continuing attempts to get the victims' bodies back to the Netherlands. Story Continued Below
In short, it's been a tough week to have a ticket on an international flight, particularly one going between Europe and Asia. But despite the turmoil, a civilian jet being shot down by a piece of military equipment remains so unusual as to be practically a fluke, and U.S. aviation in particular continues to experience the safest period in the history of powered flight. On Tuesday, reports that a rocket landed near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport prompted the three U.S. airlines that fly there  -  Delta Air Lines, US Airways and United Airlines  -  to cancel flights into the city. Soon after, the FAA issued a notice preventing U.S. airlines from flying into or out of Ben Gurion for 24 hours, saying it was due to the "potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza." Earlier this week, the State Department issued a warning that U.S. citizens should consider deferring "non-essential travel to Israel and the West Bank." At least one U.S. flight bound for Tel Aviv had to be diverted mid-route when the cancellations were announced. Delta Flight 468 was instead directed to land at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. An anonymous Israeli official, quoted by The New York Times, seemed piqued at the flight ban, saying that Israel was not given any advance notice of the airlines' decision to halt flights and insisting the airport is safe. And social media has erupted with suggestions that the flight interruptions will do more to hand Hamas a victory than rocket attacks. On Tuesday afternoon, Haaretz reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in the region for talks on the unrest, for his help in restoring flights. Other international airlines have begun to follow suit. Soon after the FAA's announcement, Lufthansa, KLM, Air Canada and Air France also announced flight suspensions to Israel. Those suspensions come as the international community struggles to make sense of a missile attack on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which was knocked from the sky over a disputed part of Ukraine last week, killing nearly 300 people on board and creating an international diplomatic crisis, as well as raising questions about who is responsible for investigating the crash. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N.-chartered standard-setting body, Ukraine is responsible for taking the lead on the investigation. But the country has asked for assistance from ICAO and other nations. On Tuesday, Tanya Powell, a State Department spokeswoman, said ICAO has sent two "advisers" to Ukraine, with two more on the way. But she reiterated that ICAO's role is one of support. "Ukraine has announced plans to delegate investigative authority to the Netherlands, which ICAO has agreed to support and assist," Powell said. On Monday, The Associated Press reported that British aviation accident investigators will examine the downed plane's black boxes, both of which have been handed over by Russian separatists to the government of Malaysia. The FAA had already restricted flights for some areas of Ukraine, but following the shoot-down of the plane, the agency expanded its restrictions to include a broader area. That means U.S. carriers are now either prohibited or strongly discouraged from flying over a large swath of the region, making it more complicated to route flights from Europe to Asia. So far, U.S. airlines are taking the Israel flight ban in stride, despite the fact that international flights are among the most lucrative on the whole. Jean Medina, a spokeswoman for the airline industry trade group Airlines for America, said U.S. airlines operate an average of 25,400 flights each day around the world in July, of which just four go to Ben Gurion. "The safety and security of our passengers and crew is always our highest priority. Together with government authorities, airlines continuously assess and mitigate risk, including evaluating appropriate technology and reviewing routes, flight plans and procedures, and we believe that is the appropriate action to continue," Medina said. Share on Facebook
Kathryn A. Wolfe  @kathrynwolfe This story tagged under: