Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and EasyJet all cancel UK-Israel flights

EasyJet, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have all confirmed they are cancelling UK-Israel flights due to the current wave of violence.

The three airlines issued statements this week outlining they will seek to re-book affected customers, with offers of full refunds also on the table.

This comes after Israel was placed on the UK government’s green list, meaning travellers could visit Israel provided they can prove they have been vaccinated.

In the last week, a wave of violence has swept across Israel and the Palestinian territories, with Hamas-fired rockets form Gaza forcing the temporary closure of the international Ben Gurion airport.

An Easyjet spokesperson told Jewish News: “Due to the ongoing situation in Tel Aviv we understand that customers may no longer wish to travel. All customers currently have the option to transfer their flights to another date or destination without a change fee, up to two hours before departure.

“In addition, any customers due to fly to Tel Aviv over the next two weeks will also be able to request a voucher by contacting our customer service team. The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our highest priority.”

A Virgin Atlantic official confirmed cancellations, saying it is “monitoring events in Israel extremely carefully and keeping Tel Aviv flight operations under constant review.”

It announced that a flight due to depart today would be cancelled in addition to the return leg, after routes on Wednesday were also halted.

The airline added: “The health and safety of our customers and our people always comes first. Those affected will be rebooked on to the next available Virgin Atlantic service, or they can choose a new travel date. with the service fee and any fare difference waived.”

Travellers can also request a full cash refund.

British Airways told Jewish News: “Like other airlines, we have cancelled our flight to and from Tel Aviv​. The safety and security of our colleagues and customers is always our top priority, and we continue to monitor the situation closely. We advise customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information. ”

It confirmed that it would contact people that were due to travel for options to re-arrange the booking, including a refund.