A new report at the pro-Iranian al-Mayadeen media said that commercial airlines are cancelling flights to Israel due to the Iranian threats to Israel. This is well known. However, the fact that Al-Mayadeen is now highlighting this issue shows that it may be a new war goal of the Iranian proxies and of Iran in general.
Flights were cancelled to Israel after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. Later when Iran threatened Israel in July 2024, the airlines canceled flights in August. The Al-Mayadeen report said that some airlines may continue cancellations through March of 2024. This illustrates that this pro-Iranian media is communicating this as a war aim to Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies.
Israel’s skies are safe, so where are the flights?
Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles in April. It’s not clear why the latest threats to Israel have caused long-term airline cancellations. Israel’s skies are safe and Israel has among the most advanced air defenses in the world.
The arbitrary cancellations have received more attention in Western media and even among US politicians.
The report al-Mayadeen said that one airline’s “travellers began receiving notices of flight cancellations to more than 15 destinations in Europe until further notice, in the hours following this announcement.” It based this on a report in Israeli media.
“Other airlines, such as EasyJet, one of the world’s largest low-cost airlines, and China’s Cathay Pacific, one of the world’s largest, have joined the move, announcing that they will ‘completely cancel their flights until March 2025.’”
The report goes on to note that “other companies have also announced the cancellation of all flights to and from Israel until the end of October, including Air India, the only foreign carrier operating flights to the East, Air Canada, American Airlines, Spanish Airlines, Finnair, KLM, and Korean Air. Last month, the American airline company, Delta, announced ‘extending the cancellation of its flights to Israel from September 1 to 30.’”
It is clear that Iran’s proxies are now focused on this development and see it as a possible victory in the conflict over the last 11 months.