The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday afternoon ordered U.S. carriers to stop flying to or from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, prohibiting them from traveling through Israel’s largest airport after a rocket landed nearby.
Airlines were banned from flying to Tel Aviv for a 24-hour period beginning on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. The FAA said it will issue additional guidance by the end of that period.
This prohibition came after a rocket landed about a mile away from the airport, the FAA said.
“The FAA immediately notified U.S. carriers when the agency learned of the rocket strike and informed them that the agency was finalizing [the notice],” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.”
Even before the FAA’s notice was sent out, several U.S. airlines began canceling flights on Tuesday morning and afternoon.
Some experts think that Israel will continue to pound Hamas in Gaza because of the revenue lost in tourism. Once the United States cancelled flights in and out of Tel Aviv, other countries followed suit.
Some feel that the cancellation of flights is giving in to Hamas. Others think safety is far more important.
What do you think? Will flights resume after 24 hours or will this cancellation last for several days or weeks?
Is Israel pounding too hard to should they continue to ferret out the source of the rocket attacks? What are ordinary Palestinians to do? Surely they would like for all of this assault to stop.
