Air India suspends Tel Aviv flights until 8 August amid West Asia tensions

Amid growing tensions in parts of the West Asia, Air India on Friday announced to suspend flight operations to and from Tel Aviv till August 8 with immediate effect.

The country’s flagship carrier operates four flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv on a weekly basis. In a post on X social media platform, the country’s flagship carrier said that in view of the ongoing situation in parts of the West Asia, “we have suspended scheduled operation of our flights to and from Tel Aviv with immediate effect up to and including 8 August, 2024.”

Air India further said that they are continuously monitoring the situation and are “extending support to our passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges”.

“Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority,” said the Tata-owned airline.

Air India on Thursday cancelled its flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv to Delhi on 1 August due to operational reasons. German carrier Lufthansa and Italian airline ITA have also suspended flights amid the Hamas tensions.

Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, was killed along with his bodyguard on Wednesday.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps accused Israel of carrying out the "terrorist attack", vowing "a harsh and painful response" to Israel over Haniyeh's assassination.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday, 1 August confirmed that Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the airstrikes carried out by the IDF fighter jets, last month.