Tel Aviv, Middle East Airports Shutter, Airlines Evacuate Fleets

‍TEL AVIV — Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) remains closed to all arrivals and departures "until further notice," officials announced Friday, after Israel launched waves of attacks against Iran and its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Israel's three largest airlines relocated their fleets out of the country to avoid being targeted in an Iranian attack.

Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, and Israir indicated that they were withdrawing their planes from the country to prevent being targeted in an expected Iranian response. A representative for Ben Gurion Airport confirmed that the aircraft were flown out without passengers. Israir stated that it was evacuating and transferring its aircraft from the airport, as part of a contingency plan prepared over the last few days.

Furthermore, as a result of the regional escalation, several foreign airlines have announced the cancellation of flights to and from Israel, with no word on when services will resume, in effect leaving Israel cut off from international aviation travel. In addition to Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria have restricted their airspaces. Hundreds of flights were forced to turn around or reroute due to the strikes.

The Times of Israel’s Channel 12 stated that Ben Gurion Airport would be closed for the next 3-4 days. However, an Airports Authority representative denied corroborating the assessment, telling The Times of Israel that no official statement or estimate had been published.

Middle East Airspace Shutters

Iranian airspace has been closed till further notice, according to official media and pilots.

AirNav Radar data indicate that the airspace around Iran, Iraq, and Jordan was largely empty, with flights being diverted to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Iraq's eastern border with Iran is one of the world's busiest air corridors connecting Europe and Asia.

According to Eurocontrol, around 1,800 flights to and from Europe had been disrupted as of Friday, with approximately 650 cancelled.

According to the Channel 12 report, Air India's (AI) New Delhi-Vienna and Mumbai-London flights were about to enter Iranian airspace when Israel initiated its attack, forcing the planes to return to their starting point, according to aircraft tracker Flight Aware.

A London-New Delhi flight had just entered Iranian airspace and was rerouted over Iraq before arriving in India one hour late, according to FlightAware.

International Flight Suspensions

Following Israel's military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military installations on June 13, 2025, numerous international airlines have suspended or canceled flights to and from Israel, Iran, and Iraq due to safety concerns and airspace closures.

US Airlines

• Delta Air Lines (DL) has suspended its New York-JFK to Tel Aviv route through August 31, 2025, just weeks after resuming service on May 20. The airline's Tel Aviv-bound flight on June 13 turned around over the Atlantic, operating as an 8-hour "flight to nowhere" before returning to New York’s JFK airport.
• United Airlines (UA) has also suspended Tel Aviv flights through at least Saturday, with its Newark-Tel Aviv service similarly turning back mid-Atlantic on June 13. United had only recently resumed flights to Israel on June 5, 2025.
• American Airlines (AA) had previously canceled all flights to Israel until April 2025 due to ongoing regional tensions.

European Airlines

• Lufthansa Group (including Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings) has suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran until July 31, and to Jordan and Lebanon until at least June 20. The group is also avoiding Iranian, Iraqi, and Israeli airspaces for the foreseeable future.
• Air France-KLM has suspended operations, with KLM (KL) specifically canceling all flights to TLV until June 30, 2025. Air France (AF) had recently resumed Israel flights on May 27, but has now joined the suspension.
• British Airways (BA) has canceled flights to Israel until July 31, 2025.
• Ryanair (FR) has extended its suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until August 31, 2025. The Irish low-cost carrier had resumed flights in March after an extended hiatus but suspended them again following a Houthi missile attack in May.
• Wizz Air (W6) has suspended Tel Aviv operations and is rerouting flights that would overfly affected airspaces for 72 hours. The Hungarian low-cost carrier is offering free rebooking and refunds to customers affected by the incident.
• EasyJet (U2) has extended its suspension of flights to Israel until August 1, 2025, having previously planned to resume operations in July.

Middle Eastern, Other Airlines

• Emirates (EK), the Middle East's largest airline, has canceled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran following the Israeli strikes.
• Qatar Airways (QR) has also implemented a "temporary cancellation" of flights to Iran and Iraq due to the current circumstances.
• Turkish Airlines (TK) and Pegasus Airlines (PC) have permanently relinquished their slots at TLV, opting not to reinstate services that were halted in October 2023.
• Air India has diverted or recalled 16 flights connecting India with London, Canada, and the United States due to the "emerging situation in Iran.” Several AI flights that were entering Iranian airspace when the strikes began had to return to their departure points.
• Ethiopian Airlines (ET) had already suspended flights to both Beirut and Tel Aviv, with services to TLV suspended since October 7, 2024.
• LOT Polish Airlines (LO) has extended flight suspensions to Israel to June 15, joining other carriers responding to regional security concerns.

This is a developing story.