Governments and airlines scrambled to add flights to evacuate thousands of tourists from Israel and repatriate the country’s citizens, as the industry faced a warning over insurance cover following the weekend attacks.
Israeli flag carrier El Al said it would operate 12 extra flights on Wednesday and Thursday to and from Athens, Rome, Madrid, Bucharest, New York, Paris, Larnaca and Istanbul.
Its low-cost unit Sun Dor is also planning rescue flights from Istanbul. El Al had already announced an extra flight from New York and six flights to and from Larnaca.
The latest move came as the combined death toll from the weekend attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas and retaliatory strikes by Israeli forces reached more than 2,000, according to both sides.
Most foreign airlines have suspended or curtailed services, leaving passengers uncertain about how to leave or reach the country and consular services struggling to keep up with demand for assistance, with priority given to those with missing relatives.
Israel’s parliamentary finance committee said late on Tuesday it would discuss approving government guarantees to provide war-risk insurance for Israeli airlines.
The committee said insurance companies had indicated they would be entitled to cancel cover with seven days’ notice. Airline executives said some cover was still available.
A senior official at the insurance industry body Lloyd’s Market Association said Israel was not on a commonly used list of high-risk areas for aviation, but it made sense for underwriters to try to control their exposure given the escalating violence.
“Some have therefore announced changes to their terms and conditions,” said Neil Roberts, head of marine and aviation.
British Airways said it was suspending flights to Tel Aviv after diverting a flight from London back to the UK shortly before it was due to reach Tel Aviv, citing security concerns.
In an unusual move, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told reporters he had brought 34 Czechs back from Israel on his government plane after stopping in the country on his way home from a conference in Oman.
The minister, who the Czech government said was the first foreign official to visit Israel since the attacks, did not rule out sending another repatriation flight to Israel.
Lipavsky arrived in Israel on Tuesday afternoon and landed in Prague early Wednesday morning.
“I spoke to our citizens. They tried to contact the airlines several times but couldn’t get through,” Lipavsky said.
Denmark said it would offer to evacuate its citizens and permanent residents from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories following the Hamas attack.
The country is preparing to send a C-130 Hercules military transport plane to Israel, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
El Al, whose planes are equipped with laser-based anti-missile systems, said earlier this week it was handling many Israeli customers of foreign companies whose flights had been cancelled.
“We have increased flights at several hubs around the world and will continue to do so as much as possible.”
Some governments were also in talks with airlines to organise special relief flights.
Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) is planning special flights on Thursday and Friday, people familiar with the matter said late on Tuesday, following negotiations between German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Washington was still in talks with US airlines about flights to Israel.
Norwegian Air (NAS.OL), which has suspended normal flights to and from Israel until 19 December, said it was organising an extra flight from Tel Aviv to Oslo to pick up Norwegian and other Nordic citizens.
A spokesman for Dubai’s Emirates said it was reducing daily flights to Tel Aviv from three times a day to once a day “for operational reasons” and that safety was its top priority.
Low-cost subsidiary flydubai said it was halving flights.
But in neighbouring Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways said it had resumed scheduled flights on Wednesday and was in contact with authorities and “security information providers”.
Passengers have complained of rising costs, particularly for departures from Israel, but airlines deny they are hiking prices.
El Al said it was trying to keep prices low for reservists wishing to fly back to Israel, with the highest fare from the United States topping $900.
But one-way commercial flights from Israel to places like London and New York were in the thousands of dollars as airlines cut schedules, according to online booking networks.
The scramble for seats comes at a time when global airline capacity is tight due to supply chain shortages left by COVID-19, with some transatlantic fares even higher than the sums quoted for flights from Israel.
