One flight was diverted to Paris before landingDelta Airlines has suspended all flights to Israel indefinitely in response to reports of a rocket strike near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport. The suspension comes after a Delta flight which departed from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport just before midnight Monday was diverted to Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport, according to a statement from Delta.
The American carriers' cancellations come the day after the United States State Department cautioned U.S. citizens against travel to Israel. Israel is currently engaged in a military operation in the Gaza Strip, and violence continues to escalate in that conflict.
Danny Saadon, an executive at Israeli airline El Al, told TIME Monday that approximately 25 percent of its expected travelers from America had cancelled or postponed their flights in recent weeks. In an interview, Saadon said that the airline is 'still maintaining [its] schedule,' and did not mention any plans to consider canceling flights. El Al has been experimenting with several forms of rocket defense systems on its aircraft since 2004.
Media representatives for two other U.S.-based carriers with flights to Israel, American Airlines and United Airlines, did not immediately respond to request for comment. Both, however, have offered customers the opportunity to reschedule travel to Israel without the usual penalties.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday the Federal Aviation Administration has not issued a formal response to Delta's decision. Airlines are responsible for their own routing decisions, Earnest added.
- With reporting from Zeke J. Miller
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