British Airways and 15 other airlines have cancelled their flights to and from Tel Aviv amidst Israel’s bombardment of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
British Airways said it is temporarily suspending flights to the region and will resume its services there in 48 hours.
Other airlines which have also suspended flights to and from Israel include Virgin Atlantic, EasyJet and Ryanair, Wizz Air and Azerbaijan Airlines amongst others.
In a statement, BA said: “We’ve been continually monitoring the situation in the Middle East and have taken the operational decision to cancel our flights to and from Tel Aviv, up to and including, Wednesday, 25 September,” reports MailOnline.
It added: “Safety is always our top priority, and we’re contacting customers to advise them of their travel options.”
Lebabon’s health ministry claimed that of the 492 dead, 58 were women and 35 children as a result of Israel’s military action.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark message to people living in southern and eastern Lebanon.
In a video message on X, the 74-year-old said: “I have a message for the people of Lebanon: Israel‘s war is not with you, it is with Hezbollah.
“For too long Hezbollah has been using you as human shields.”
The Likud party leader said: “Now, starting this morning, the IDF has warned you to get out of harm’s way. I urge you – take this warning seriously.
“Once our operation is finished you can come back safely to your homes.”
The Israeli leader justified the military action in his video address, saying that Hezbollah was storing weapons “aimed directly” at Israeli cities in the homes of Lebanese citizens.
The IDF had to “take out” those weapons to ensure the safety of the state of Israel and its people, he said.
The military action by Israel has led to a mass exodus with tens of thousands of citizens fleeing their homes yesterday even as IDF bombs continued to fall overnight.
Thousands of residents of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon were pictured attempting to flee the city. Traffic jams clogged up major roads as worried citizens heeded the advice of Mr Netanyahu.
The flight cancellations come after thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon last week, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000, many of them civilians.
World leaders are calling for calm as they attempt to diffuse a conflict that has been on the boil since Hezbollah stepped up its attacks over the border in the wake of October 7.