Many of the foreign airlines, including Air India, have cancelled flights to Israel's capital, Tel Aviv for the next several days after Houthi rebels carried out a missile attack at Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main international airport.
The foreign carriers had begun to resume flights to Israel in January—following a ceasefire deal with Hamas—after halting them for much of the last year and a half.
Air India said it has suspended flights to Tel Aviv till May 6 following the attack that took place on Sunday morning.
“Consequent to developments in Tel Aviv this morning, our operations to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended with immediate effect till 6th May 2025, to ensure the safety of our customers and staff,” the airline said in a statement.
“Our colleagues on the ground are assisting customers and helping them with alternative arrangements,” it added.
Air India further said the customers who booked flights with valid tickets between May 4 and May 6 will be offered a one-time waiver on rescheduling or full refunds for cancellation.
“We would like to reiterate that at Air India, the safety of our customers and crew remains top priority,” it said.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv-bound Air India flight AI139 which was diverted to Abu Dhabi safely landed at the UAE capital and would soon return to Delhi.
Delta Air Lines said it had cancelled Sunday's flight from JFK in New York to Tel Aviv and the return flight from Tel Aviv on Monday.
Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels and Austrian, said it had halted flights to and from Tel Aviv through Tuesday.
ITA Airways has cancelled flights from Italy to Israel through Wednesday, while Air France cancelled flights on Sunday. Ryanair also suspended flights on Sunday.
The missile attack happened less than an hour before the Air India flight AI139, operated with a Boeing 787 aircraft, was to land at Tel Aviv.
Houthis have recently intensified missile launches at Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Ben Gurion airport authorities, the missile landed beside a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot. "You can see the scene right behind us here, a hole that opened up with a diameter of tens of metres and also tens of metres deep," a senior police officer told Reuters.
Reports said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would meet security ministers and defence officials on Sunday to discuss a response.