On Tuesday, the airlines of Israel, El Al, Israir, and Arkia added more flights to bring reservists home, according to their websites and Israel’s airport’s authority, though the possibility of more conflict also stoked sector concerns about staff lacks.
Israel said on Monday it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and alerted locals of the Palestinian enclave Gaza to evacuate in an indication it could be planning a ground attack in response to Palestinian militant group Hamas’ unprecedented weekend assault.
Individually, Matt Miller, US State Department spokesman, said the US government was in discussion with different carriers to “encourage” them to consider continuing travel in and out of Israel to assist several American residents exiting the country.
American Airlines on Tuesday temporarily halted all flights to and from Tel Aviv through December 4 after Delta Air Lines said Monday it would cancel all flights to Israel through October 31, while United Airlines has indefinitely suspended flights.
Airlines for America said on Tuesday it remains in conversations with government agencies about the matter.
A spokesperson said, “The situation in Israel is rapidly evolving, and our carriers continue to make individual assessments about operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports.”
While many main airlines have canceled flights to and from Israel, domestic carriers have looked to build up their ability, at least in the coming days. Many Israelis were traveling abroad the last week for a Jewish holiday.
Israir Airlines on its website said it was offering flights from Larnaca in Cyprus, Corfu in Greece, and Batumi in Georgia to assist in bringing Israelis back to the nation.
Arkia was offering flights from the Greek capital Athens to Eilat in southern Israel and from Marrakesh in Morocco to Tel Aviv, among others.
