2014 Ben Gurion Airport flight bans
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The 2014 Ben Gurion Airport flight bans were a series of flight bans at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel due to the 2014 Gaza War.
On 21 July 2014, the United States State Department advised U.S. citizens to "consider the deferral of non-essential travel to Israel" in consideration of the firing of rockets into different parts of Israel (including cities).[1][2]
On 22 July, a rocket landed about a mile from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.[3] Delta Air Lines diverted[4] a flight which was in the air to Paris.[3] Delta Air Lines and United Airlines suspended all flights to Tel Aviv indefinitely, and US Airways also cancelled flights.[5][6] After this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibited U.S. airlines from flying to or from the airport for up to 24 hours[7] and cited "the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza."[8] The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) stated that it "strongly recommends" that airlines do not fly into or out of the Tel Aviv airport.[9] On 23 July, the FAA extended its prohibition for another 24 hours,[10] however halfway through the extension, 36 hours into the flight ban, the FAA lifted their ban.[11]
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg flew to Ben Gurion on El Al on the 23rd of July in order to prove that Israel's airports are safe and to show his solidarity with Israel.[12][13] He told CNN, "The fact that one rocket falls far away from this airport – a mile away – doesn't mean you should shut down air traffic into a country and paralyze the country."[14]
Israel's reaction
Shortly after the FAA announcement, Yisrael Katz, the Israeli Transportation Minister, stated that "Ben Gurion airport was safe for take-offs and landings, and that there was no security concern for passenger planes."[15] Israel previously stated that the Iron Dome has successfully intercepted "about 90% of rockets headed toward populated or strategic areas".[15] Israel's Civil Aviation Authority wrote a document which said that Israel is taking efforts to avoid commercial airline cancellations of flights going into Ben-Gurion Airport. It submitted the document to Transportation Minister Katz, indicating that the airport was safe for landings and departures.[16] One significant measure taken by the aviation authorities to increase the level of safety at Ben Gurion during the Gaza operation was to route all commercial traffic through the airspace north of the airport and away from the direction of Gaza. This move was facilitated by frequently employing runway 03/21, a new runway at the airport that was completed less than two months before the conflict began.
In response to the cancellations, on 23 July, Israel offered to open up Ovda Airport (in southern Israel, 60 km (37 mi) north of Eilat) to international flights, due to its distance from Gaza.[17][18] There was crowding and chaos at the airport after it opened; 5,000 people were expected to pass through the airport on 24 July. Among the airlines flying to the airport were Air Europa, Air Méditerranée, and Neos.[19] The Iron Dome intercepted a rocket over Eilat (which is farther south than the Ovda airport) on 24 July.[20]