All flights suspended

AUA flight to Tel Aviv had to turn back

An AUA flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv had to turn back on Thursday night due to the security situation in Israel. However, the situation was not critical at any time, according to a spokeswoman for the airline. Nevertheless, all connections were suspended until August 8.

This was a precautionary measure due to the unclear security situation in the Middle East.

All flights to Tel Aviv suspended until August 8
An AUA crisis team met on Thursday to assess the situation for flights to Tel Aviv and overflights in the region. The result: all flights to Tel Aviv will be suspended until August 8.

Lufthansa flight also stopped
AUA's parent company Lufthansa also canceled an onward flight from Cyprus to Tel Aviv during the night for safety reasons. The aircraft had previously landed at Larnaca Airport from Munich as planned in order to fly to Israel with a new crew, a spokesperson announced. This onward flight had been canceled because Iran had temporarily closed its airspace in the morning hours. Lufthansa therefore did not consider the safety of the flights to Tel Aviv to be guaranteed.

Following the targeted killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday morning, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly ordered a direct attack on Israel. On Thursday, Israel also declared the military chief of the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, Mohammed Deif, dead.

Israeli army on high alert
Previously, the killing of a Hezbollah commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut had also led to high tension in the Middle East. According to media reports, the Israeli army is on high alert in anticipation of possible retaliatory strikes following the attacks in Beirut and Tehran.