Posted on 05/04/25
| News Source: Associated Press
Jerusalem, Israel - May 4, 2025 - Following the Houthi missile crash at Ben-Gurion Airport due to the failure of Israel's defense systems, several airlines canceled their flights to Israel for 24 hours on Sunday.
Germany’s Lufthansa Group announced flight cancellations, including by its subsidiaries Swiss, Brussels Airlines, and others.
In addition, American carriers United and Delta—both of which had only recently resumed flights to Israel—have also canceled their flights, along with France’s Transavia and its Air France, Air Canada, Japan’s Nippon Airways, Spain’s Air Europa, and British Airways.
Budget airline Wizz Air announced it would suspend flights to Israel until Tuesday morning.
This incident is considered one of the most serious failures in Israel’s missile defense system.
Ben-Gurion Airport remains Israel’s primary international transportation hub, and missiles from the Iranian “octopus” axis—whether from Syria, Gaza, or the Houthis—are targeting it specifically to trigger this wave of flight cancellations.
The IDF is expected to investigate the dual failure that allowed a missile fired from a great distance in Yemen to evade both American and Israeli defense systems, setting Israel back to a period of empty skies, flight cancellations, and anticipated fare hikes among Israeli airlines.
Meanwhile, since the missile strike, El Al’s stock has surged by over 5%.