© Reuters.
By Sarah Young and Joanna Plucinska
LONDON (Reuters) -British Airways said on Wednesday it would suspend all of its flights to Tel Aviv after it diverted a flight from London back to the UK due to security concerns in Israel.
Israel’s airports authority said there was no security threat at the airport at the time.
“Safety is always our highest priority and we’ve taken the decision to return our Tel Aviv flight to Heathrow,” a spokesperson for the airline said.
Since the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Saturday, many international airlines have suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv.
A spokesperson for Israel’s airports authority said rockets were flying around Tel Aviv at the time but were not an immediate threat to the flight or to Ben Gurion Airport.
She said the diversion back to Britain was the pilot’s decision and that no other flights were diverted.
British Airways (LON:), owned by IAG, had said on Monday it was monitoring the situation in Israel closely but would continue to operate some flights.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar showed the flight in question, BA165, had almost reached Tel Aviv.
