Air Canada Flight Delayed by Rockets over Tel Aviv, Lufthansa to Resume Flights Saturday
An Air Canada flight from Toronto was forced to circle the Tel Aviv airport before landing Friday after rockets were fired over the Israeli capital, an airline spokeswoman said.
"Eight kilometers away from landing at the Tel Aviv airport this morning, the pilots of Flight AC84 were ordered into a standard holding pattern by Israeli air traffic control," Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said.
The aircraft was asked to continue circling overhead "until the airspace was deemed secure," before landing safely, she said.
As a result the flight was delayed 10 minutes, she added.
Earlier Hamas said it had targeted the airport, while the Israeli army confirmed that it intercepted two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, missiles fired at the airport had forced the cancellation of several American and European flights.
Flight AC84 was Air Canada's first flight to Tel Aviv since the airline joined others in suspending trips to the city. It later departed for Toronto at 2 pm local time.
"The security of our passengers and of our crew is our top priority," said Arthur. "And we will continue to monitor the situation."
Later on Friday, German airline Lufthansa said it would resume flights to and from Tel Aviv Saturday after a three-day suspension due to security concerns.
"It is with relief that we are able to return to scheduled service on the routes to Tel Aviv," the company said in a statement on Friday.
The group, which also operates carriers Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, runs flights between Israel's main international airport and Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels.
"Lufthansa continuously evaluates the security situation for the entire route network in close coordination with the responsible authorities," it said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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