Spanish airline Air Europa latest to cancel scheduled Tel Aviv-Madrid flights, citing ‘situation in Israel'
International airlines have suspended flights throughout the past week amid growing fears of renewed missile attacks from Yemen's Houthi group.
Among the latest carriers to announce cancellations was Spanish airline Air Europa, which on Friday said it would cancel its scheduled Tel Aviv-Madrid flights for Sunday, citing “the situation in Israel.”
The decision adds to a growing list of airlines avoiding Israeli airspace amid escalating regional tensions.
Earlier in the week, Iberia Express, another Spanish airline, extended its flight suspension until June 1. British Airways also cancelled all flights to and from Israel until June 15, according to a report by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
The disruption follows a major security incident last Sunday when a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi movement landed near Israel's main international airport in the capital Tel Aviv, injuring seven people and causing a temporary suspension of all takeoffs and landings at Ben Gurion Airport, according to Israeli reports.
The Houthi group said the strike was in retaliation for Israel's ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.
In response to the threat, US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines extended their suspensions through May 18 and May 19, respectively.
Germany's Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings, has suspended flights until May 11.
France's Air France and its subsidiary Transavia have also suspended operations until May 13.
Hungary's Wizz Air cancelled flights through May 8, while Greece's Aegean Airlines and Italy's ITA Airways extended their suspensions until mid-May.
Other airlines, including LOT Polish Airlines, Air India, Air Baltic, and Ethiopian Airlines, have also either suspended or limited flights in recent days.
The continued wave of cancellations reflects growing concerns over the security of Israeli airspace, particularly following joint Israeli-US airstrikes in Yemen that killed at least seven people and injured dozens more on Monday.
The strikes, which targeted Sanaa, Amran, and Al-Hudaydah, caused widespread infrastructure damage and forced the closure of Sanaa International Airport.
The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where nearly 52,800 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault for more than 19 months, most of them women and children.
The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, but resumed them after Israel's renewed airstrikes on Gaza in March.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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