Major airlines suspend flights after attack on Israel

By Douglas Gillison, Joanna Plucinska and Sophie Yu

(Reuters) - Major international air carriers suspended or scaled back flights to or from Tel Aviv after a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve.

About 50% of scheduled Tel Aviv flights did not operate on Sunday and a third were cancelled on Monday as of 6:41 p.m.(1541 GMT) in Israel, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracking website.

U.S. air carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines on Sunday suspended direct flights to Israel after the Federal Aviation Administration urged airlines to exercise caution.

Many European airlines have also canceled flights including Ryanair through to Wednesday and Norwegian Air cancelling its flights from Copenhagen and Stockholm to Tel Aviv this week.

Israel's national carrier El Al was the exception, adding more flights to bring reservists back from around the world to assist in the country's biggest mobilization in history.

Fighters from the Islamist group killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens in Saturday's attacks, the deadliest such incursion in decades, prompting Israel to retaliate by pounding the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Israel's Kan TV on Monday said the death toll from the Hamas attack had climbed to 800.

Israel's tourism sector, driven by beach- and party-goers in Tel Aviv and historical tours to sites like Jerusalem, is set to take a major hit as flight cancellations pile up. Tourism makes up 3.6% of total employment, according to OECD data.

U.S. cruise operators Royal Caribbean and Carnival said they "adjusted" their itineraries in the Israel area. Their stocks were down 3% and 5% respectively.

Tourism bookings were 18% below pre-pandemic levels and had been rising earlier this year, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys, but took a hit on the back of political turmoil, particularly with American tourists.

"So far clients haven't been cancelling, but they are being more precautious about travelling. We've been getting a lot of inquiries about safety," said Matt Berna, Americas President of Intrepid Travel, a group tour and travel company.

Regulators including the FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Israel's aviation authority urged airlines to use caution in the region's airspace, but stopped short of suspending flights.

Israel's civil aviation authority asked airlines to "review current security and threat information" amid the conflict, and changed some air traffic routes. It noted that delays were expected and advised airlines to carry extra fuel.

U.S. airlines normally run direct services from major cities including New York, Chicago, Washington and Miami.

United on Monday said its "Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume" while American has canceled flights through Friday.

Delta said flights this week were canceled and the situation was being monitored.

Among the three U.S. carriers, United has the biggest exposure. In the quarter through December, Israel accounted for 1.9% of its planned global capacity, according to a Reuters analysis of Cirium’s data. American Airlines has the lowest exposure, with Israel accounting for 0.4% of its global capacity in the same period.

U.S. airline stocks fell sharply Monday, with Delta and American down 5.5% and United off 6%.

AIRLINE RESPONSES

In Europe, Air France and Finland's Finnair suspended direct flights.

Britain's easyJet halted flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday, and said it would adjust the timings of flights over the next few days.

Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

"Wizz Air is the most affected group with its operations accounting for some 9.4% of Israel's total October capacity and ... representing some 2.3% of the carrier's total schedules," Irish brokerage Goodbody said.

Lufthansa group, also among the airlines most exposed to Israel according to Goodbody, canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv through Monday.

Portugal's TAP suspended flights up until Monday and offered refunds or rescheduling at no additional cost.

Virgin Atlantic said it would continue to run some flights but that customers could rebook or request a refund until Oct. 15.

Shares in British airlines fell on Monday as oil prices climbed amid the military conflict in the Middle East. Fuel is one of the biggest costs for carriers. British Airways-owner IAG was down 5%, Wizz Air sank 6% to an almost one-year low and easyJet fell 4.8%.

With its most popular routes flying in and out of Istanbul around 107 times per week, Ben Gurion airport saw a major drop in scheduled versus tracked flights this past weekend, with 350 scheduled for Sunday and 197 tracked, according to FlightRadar data.

Israel's airports authority said Ben Gurion continued to handle arrivals and departures.

Hainan Airlines, the only Chinese airline to fly between China and Israel, and other airlines flying from Hong Kong and South Korea, canceled flights between Tel Aviv and Shanghai on Monday.

Hainan said it would continue flights linking Beijing and the southern tech hub of Shenzhen with Tel Aviv while waiving fees for cancellations before Oct. 20.

EgyptAir flights between Cairo and Tel Aviv have been suspended indefinitely.

For more details on flight suspensions and cancellations, see this FACTBOX.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Douglas Gillison, Sophie Yu, Farah Master, Joyce Lee, Brenda Goh, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Tim Hepher, Ilona Wissenbach, Doyinsola Oladipo, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Sergio Goncalves in Lisbon, Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm and Sarah Young and Joanna Plucinska in London; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Bernadette Baum and Sharon Singleton)