Status: 12.10.2023, 22:37 p.m.
By: Moritz Bletzinger, Bjarne Kommnick
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Airlines are responding to the war in Israel. Lufthansa is carrying out evacuation flights to Germany on two days.
Update from October 12, 21:30 p.m.: Hundreds of people have already been able to leave Israel on Lufthansa's evacuation flights. On Thursday afternoon (12 October), the first two planes from Tel Aviv landed in Frankfurt and Munich. Although there has been a real rush for tickets and hotlines have been paralyzed, the airline will probably not be able to fill the planes. This is according to an email from the German Foreign Office, which Business Insider has obtained. According to the report, this was sent to Germans stuck in Israel.
With the subject "Hurry! Flights tomorrow", they are informed that there are still free seats available on the planes to Germany on Friday (13 October) at short notice. Interested parties should contact the Foreign Office by telephone, it continues. A diplomat told Business Insider that as early as Thursday, several people had not boarded the flights, even though tickets had been booked and paid. Those wishing to leave the country pay around 300 euros for boarding passes. Lufthansa charges 550 euros, but 250 euros per ticket is paid by the federal government.
Update from October 12, 18:20 p.m.: According to information from the Federal Foreign Office, the first flight from Tel Aviv has arrived in Frankfurt – and with it 372 people. The Lufthansa plane landed with a delay of one hour. Shortly thereafter, a plane also arrived at Munich Airport, it is said.
A Lufthansa plane arrives at Frankfurt Airport from Tel Aviv. There are 372 people on board. © Hannes P Albert/dpa
First evacuation flights from Israel to Germany started
Update from October 12, 18 p.m.: On Thursday afternoon, the first evacuation flights from Israel to Germany took off. With the first three of four special flights planned for Thursday, more than 660 German citizens and their family members were able to leave the country, the Foreign Office said. Flights from Tel Aviv were to fly directly to Frankfurt and Munich. More would follow on Friday.
Germans who have registered on the Federal Foreign Office's precautionary list for crisis information were able to register for the flights. Lufthansa had promised to offer up to four flights from Tel Aviv on Thursday and Friday. At 13.30 p.m., 14.30 p.m., 16 p.m. and 17 p.m. (local time). According to the Federal Foreign Office, there are more than 100,000 German citizens in Israel, most of whom have dual citizenship.
Update from October 12, 13:28 p.m.: It took a long time for the German evacuation flights from Israel to start and the chaos continues. Contrary to the original plan, Lufthansa does not want to resume scheduled flights on Saturday. All that remains are the special flights of the Federal Foreign Office to leave the country. On Friday and Thursday there are four each.
Four special flights will operate between Germany and Israel on Thursday and Friday: The scheduled flights from Saturday onwards will be cancelled. © Achille Abboud/Imago
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Until then, several Lufthansa planes will fly to Israel on Thursday and Friday, and a ferry will also leave for Cyprus on Thursday, as reported by Bild.
War in Israel: Lufthansa cancels numerous more flights to Tel Aviv
First reported on October 9, 15:41 p.m.: Cologne – Lufthansa has cancelled all flights to and from the country until further notice in the wake of the war in Israel. A spokesperson for the company told IPPEN on Monday afternoon. MEDIA: "Safety is a top priority for the airlines of the Lufthansa Group. Due to the still unclear development of the situation in Israel and after intensive analysis of the situation, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group have decided to suspend their regular flights to and from Tel Aviv up to and including Saturday."
Lufthansa suspends all flights to Israel – travel offers can still be found on homepage on Monday
For affected travelers, it seems to be complicated: "At the moment, we can only offer very limited rebooking options to and from Israel," the company explains. "We regret having to make this decision. We ask all those affected to contact their airline." The Lufthansa Group will now continue to closely monitor the security situation in Israel "and are in close contact with the authorities." Currently, there is also an urgent travel warning to the crisis area.
Lufthansa and other airlines have suspended air traffic to Israel until further notice. © Georg Ismar/dpa
As recently as Monday afternoon (October 9, 14:55 p.m.), the company had offered flights to Israel as usual on its website. Only a short time later, the offer is no longer to be found. Previously, the company had suspended air traffic up to and including Monday, October 9. With this extension, the company is responding to the security situation in Israel. At the moment, a group of German students is even stuck in the middle of the crisis area. Attempts to fly the young people out had so far failed.
Air traffic to Israel severely restricted – planes turn around in the air
Already on Saturday, a Lufthansa spokesman told dpa that all but one Lufthansa flight to Israel had been canceled. Lufthansa's subsidiary Swiss has also cancelled all other connections for the time being, with the exception of two flights to Israel.
Other airlines are also significantly restricting their flights to Israel due to the unclear political situation at the moment. According to AeroTelegraph, several airlines had changed the destination of their flying planes during the flight on Saturday and sent their pilots back to the departure airport. In view of the current situation, a quick return to normal operations around air traffic in Israel seems unlikely.