German airline, Lufthansa has announced that it is cancelling all passenger and cargo flights to and from Israel until August 8.
According to the airline, this is due to the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran.
The ban affects all of the group’s airlines, as well as freight and passenger planes, according to a company spokesperson on Thursday. The Lufthansa Group also comprises Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings.
Flights to Beirut have been suspended up to and including Monday, August 12. Flights to Tel Aviv are halted until Thursday, August 8.
Lufthansa cancelled the onward flight of an aircraft from Cyprus to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night for safety reasons.
The A321 aircraft had previously landed at Larnaca Airport from Munich as planned in order to fly to Israel with a new crew, according to a company spokesman.
Lufthansa implemented stopovers in Cyprus to avoid overnight crew stays in a conflict-ridden region. The flight’s next leg was canceled because Iran’s airspace was momentarily closed.
Following the deaths of two key Israeli opponents, the security situation in the Middle East has deteriorated even worse. Iran claims Israel for one of the attacks, which occurred in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Iranian officials have threatened to respond.