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EL AL Israel Airlines has suspended new flight bookings until at least March 21st as it prepares for a large-scale repatriation operation to return stranded Israelis home once authorities authorize the resumption of flights. All commercial operations remain suspended at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) amid ongoing Iranian missile attacks. The airport is not expected to reopen before March 2nd and even after official clearance, foreign carriers are widely expected to delay their return to Israeli airspace.
In an extraordinary move, EL AL evacuated its aircraft from the airport on Saturday. This broke from its longstanding Shabbat practice of grounding flights from sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday. Crews were mobilized at short notice to reposition aircraft outside Israel for safety. The aircraft departed under irregular flight numbers, which signaled special repositioning operations without passengers onboard. The evacuation included Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft, which were flown in convoy to airports across Europe (including Athens, Bucharest, Budapest, Paris, and Rome). The repositioning allows EL AL to stage aircraft outside the conflict zone and will enable a rapid restart of operations once Israeli authorities permit flights to resume.
The wider Middle East aviation landscape remains heavily disrupted. Airspace closures across multiple countries have severely constrained commercial traffic. Dubai International Airport (DXB) was briefly evacuated after an Iranian drone struck Terminal 3. At least four people were reported injured. Officials stated that structural damage was limited and most passengers had already cleared the area.
In a separate incident at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport (AUH), one person was killed and seven others injured in what authorities described as a suspected missile attack.
At Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH), local authorities expedited the transfer of passengers to nearby hotels amid heightened security concerns. Qatar Airways has indicated it will provide an operational update at 9:00 AM on March 1st, while Emirates is tentatively targeting a restart of service at 3:00 PM.
EL AL’s decision to close bookings through March 21st reflects the uncertainty surrounding Israel’s airspace and the scale of the anticipated repatriation effort. Once flight operations are authorized, the airline is expected to prioritize returning Israeli citizens currently stranded abroad before reopening regular commercial bookings.
Anthony’s Take: With airspace across parts of the Middle East still restricted and security conditions evolving rapidly, the timeline for a full restoration of regional air travel remains uncertain. Everything is rapidly developing.
(Featured Image Credit: EL AL.)
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