Q&A: Why are airlines halting flights to Tel Aviv?

Why are we seeing many airlines stop flying to Israel's Tel Aviv airport?

On Tuesday at 12.15 EST, the Federal Aviation Administration, the chief US aviation regulator, banned US airlines from flying to or from Ben Gurion International airport for up to 24 hours because a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck close to the hub on the morning of July 22.

The European Aviation Safety Agency, which oversees EU aviation and seeks to be consistent with the FAA, followed up by saying it strongly advised European airlines not to fly to Ben Gurion.

So US carriers including Delta Air Lines stopped flying to Tel Aviv and a clutch of European airlines have done the same, including Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. Some of these EU airlines have suspended flights until further notice.

Have all airlines stopped flying to Tel Aviv?

No. El Al, Israel's flag carrier, is continuing to use the airport, as is British Airways and several other airlines.

Has this regulatory action got anything to do with the downing of MH17?

Strictly speaking, no. The US and European regulators based their decisions on the fact that a rocket landed a mile from Ben Gurion on Tuesday. But it would be naive to think that the MH17 crash, which raised significant concerns about the policing of air space, was not at the forefront of their minds.

Have the airlines that stopped flying to Ben Gurion over-reacted?

Israel thinks they have. Yisrael Katz, transport minister, said: "There's absolutely no reason why American airlines in particular should stop their flights and thus hand a prize to terrorism."

Michael Bloomberg, New York's former mayor, said: "The flight restrictions are a mistake that hands Hamas an undeserved victory and should be lifted immediately. I strongly urge the FAA to reverse course and permit US airlines to fly to Israel."

Howard Wheeldon, an analyst, said this was the first time since 1973 that flights to Israel have been stopped, adding that European airlines were wrong to suspend flights indefinitely.

"We do need to accept that the Israeli authorities know of the dangers and I am in no doubt that the airport is adequately protected," he said.

So how does the regulatory action on Israel compare to Ukraine?

They are very different, which highlights the diverse range of influences that are brought to bear on airspace management.

The main say on airspace rests with individual countries. The Ukrainian authorities on July 14 imposed a ban on passenger jets flying below 32,000ft across eastern Ukraine, according to Eurocontrol, the umbrella organisation for airspace management in the EU. Eastern Ukraine is the scene of fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government forces, and military aircraft have been shot down.

But this 32,000ft threshold could not safeguard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 from a surface-to-air missile. US authorities believe the Boeing 777 was probably brought down by a missile fired mistakenly by pro-Russia separatists.

Many airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Singapore Airlines, sent their jets over Ukraine until the MH17 crash, because there was no complete ban on flying.

However, others, including British Airways and Qantas, stopped flying over Ukraine well before the crash. This highlights how airlines ultimately have the ability to choose where they fly, based on their own risk assessments.

Will the decisions made by the Ukrainian authorities feature in the international investigation into MH17?

Almost certainly. The ban on flying below 32,000ft was shown to be inadequate. There is now a complete ban on flying over eastern Ukraine.

Do airlines fly over other war zones?

Yes. Malaysia Airlines on Monday defended how one of its flights from Kuala Lumpur to London went over Syria, highlighting how the country had not imposed any restrictions in its air space.

Does there need to be reform of airspace management, particularly in war zones?

The airline industry certainly thinks so. The International Air Transport Association is calling for a review of airspace management in war zones, saying governments must consider whether better procedures can be drawn up. It wants a review led by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the UN agency that sets global aviation standards.

Tony Tyler, IATA's director general, said: "Nobody should be shooting missiles at civilian aircraft - governments or separatists. Governments will need to take the lead in reviewing how airspace risk assessments are made. And the industry will do all that it can to support governments, through ICAO, in the difficult work that lies ahead."

© The Financial Times Limited 2014. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation