El Al plane is seen at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on December 31, 2022. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Airspace closures in the Middle East grounded and diverted flights on Saturday as Iran launched drones towards Israel.
United Airlines, which resumed service to Tel Aviv early last month after suspending Israeli flights following Hamas attacks in October, canceled its flight from Newark to Tel Aviv on Saturday after Israel closed its airspace. Jordan and Iraq had also closed their airspace, according to Jordanian state media Al Mamlaka.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will make decisions about upcoming flights with an emphasis on the safety of our customers and crews,” United said in a statement. The airline is the only U.S. airline to have resumed service to Israel since October. Delta was expected to restart flights to Tel Aviv in June. 7. American Airlines did not resume service in Israel.
United also canceled its flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Amman, Jordan, on Saturday evening, “due to unrest in the Middle East.”
It is unclear when flights will resume.
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 said several flights to Tel Aviv and Amman were diverted on Saturday.
Airlines have also canceled service scheduled for Sunday. The Israeli airline El Al canceled 14 flights on Sunday, the airline Emirates canceled its Dubai-Amman flight scheduled for Sunday. Air France service to Israel was canceled Sunday and British Airways canceled its two flights to Tel Aviv Sunday and canceled a flight to Amman.