In view of the short-term change in the security situation in the Middle East, Austrian Airlines is temporarily suspending its connections to and from Tel Aviv in Israel and to and from Tehran in Iran with immediate effect. The airline announced this on Tuesday evening.
It was stressed that Austrian Airlines flight OS872 from the Iranian capital to Vienna would still take place as planned on Wednesday evening (departure at 02:40 local time).
Resumption not before Thursday evening
In principle, the “Middle East security analysis has been revised” in consultation with the Lufthansa Group crisis team. It is expected that normal air traffic will not resume until Thursday evening at the earliest. Until then, Israeli and Iranian airspace would be flown around.
Free rebooking or cancellation possible
For passengers affected by cancellations, Austrian Airlines offers the possibility to rebook or cancel free of charge. “As before, developments in the region will be continuously and meticulously assessed,” the AUA said. “The safety of passengers and crew members always has the highest priority for Austrian Airlines.” The connections to Amman (Jordan) and Erbil (Autonomous Region of Kurdistan in Iraq) will continue as planned, it was also announced.
Deutsche Lufthansa said that Israeli and Iranian airspace would be flown around by all airlines of the Lufthansa Group during the specified period. In addition to the main carrier of the same name and Austria, the Lufthansa Group also includes Eurowings, SWISS and Brussels Airlines, as well as a number of regional airlines.
Hundreds of pagers exploded: scores dead and injured in Lebanon
The conflict between Israel and the Shiite Hezbollah militia continued to escalate on Tuesday, with 8 people killed and some 2,750 wounded in suspected coordinated explosions of many portable radio receivers in Lebanon.
Iran-backed Hezbollah blamed Israel for the so-called beeper explosions and vowed retaliation. The US administration warned Iran not to do anything that could aggravate the current tense situation. “We would like to urge Iran not to misuse this incident to create further instability.”
Source: Krone
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