A Lufthansa flight from Munich to Israel made an unscheduled landing in Cyprus due to the ongoing tensions in the region in the wake of two assassinations in Beirut and Tehran that had senior terrorists eliminated. Passengers were informed that their journey to Israel would not be completed on that flight, forcing them to decide between staying in Cyprus or returning to Munich.
The immediate fallout from this incident includes the cancellation of Lufthansa's morning round-trip service between Munich and Tel Aviv. As of now, it remains uncertain whether this disruption will extend to other upcoming Lufthansa flights to Israel.
Lufthansa plane turns around on its way to Israel due to fears of war pic.twitter.com/MYm0jinMqo
— Shalom Memeshallah (@JewPrez) August 1, 2024
In a parallel incident, an Austrian Airlines flight landed in Sofia instead of Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, similarly leaving passengers short of their destination. Rachel, an Israeli passenger on the diverted Austrian flight, recounted her experience to Israel Hayom: "Approximately 40 minutes before we were due to land, we were informed of a change in our destination. They told us we would be landing in Bulgaria to refuel before returning to Vienna. Now, after more than six hours in the air, we've arrived in Vienna with no clear direction on what to do next."
A Lufthansa spokesperson provided the following statement: "Lufthansa flight LH682 from Munich to Tel Aviv, which is currently being routed through Larnaca for operational reasons, will return to Munich after landing in Larnaca at 2:43 a.m. (CEST) this morning. This diversion is a precautionary measure due to security-related activities. The planned connecting flight from Larnaca to Tel Aviv, as well as the return flight LH683 from Tel Aviv to Munich scheduled for today, have been canceled. We will offer alternative flights to all affected passengers. At this time, our remaining flights scheduled for today are proceeding as planned. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew remains our utmost priority."
