Lufthansa cancels flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut over security concerns

German airline, Lufthansa, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut over security concerns amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, a media report said on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The airline will cancel all flights to Tel Aviv through 8 August “due to current developments”. Both passenger and freight traffic are affected equally, the daily, Bild, reported.

In addition, flights to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, will be suspended until 12 August, it added.

In a related development, a Lufthansa Airlines flight from Munich to Tel Aviv landed in Larnaca, in the Greek Cypriot Administration, on Thursday morning before returning to Germany after the crew refused to fly to Israel amid spiralling tensions with Iran.

The German airline also announced on Wednesday that it had cancelled two night time flights to Israel from Frankfurt and Munich on Monday due to mounting tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Middle East’s security situation has deteriorated following the assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran and the Israeli army’s claim of killing a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

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