At Ben Gurion Airport in Israel’s capital of Tel Aviv, a Ground Handler believed to be from Israir Airlines waives the Ukrainian flag in front of Russia’s flagship carrier, Aeroflot. The worker was reported and suspended from his job.
דגל אוקראינה מול מטוס רוסי בנתב"ג. אחד העובדים בצעד הפגנת סולידריות. המרחב האווירי של ישראל פתוח בפני רוסיה אם כי הנתיב התארך בכמעט שעתיים וחצי לכיוון.
הסיפור המלא עוד מעט אצל @RubinsteinRoy בYnet pic.twitter.com/HJI50i9cOd
— Daniel Salami | דניאל סלאמה (@DanielSal_87) March 4, 2022
Airspace Ban
Israel has yet to follow suit with other countries in banning Russian aeroplanes from its airspace and has maintained its Tel Aviv – Moscow flight routes. However, due to insurance reasons, Israeli flights have been avoiding flying over Russia as it invalidates their insurance policies. Due to this, some flights have been rerouted, which has resulted in longer flying times. An example of this is El Al flight number LY612 that headed to Tel Aviv from Moscow. This route usually takes up to four hours, however, the actual flight time was nearly six hours.
El Al
Currently, the Israeli carrier, El Al, operates two flights per day between Israel and Russia. It’s has been reported that El Al will be slightly reducing their service, but they have continued to keep the flights in operation so that both Israelis and the Jewish population in Russia can fly back. The Knesset Finance Committee reported that there are tens of thousands of Israelis in Russia and a large Jewish community.
Aeroflot
Russia’s flagship carrier, Aeroflot, continues to operate its flights between Tel Aviv and Russia, with no plans or restrictions stopping them anytime soon. Due to Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, most countries have banned Russian aeroplanes from landing in their airport or flying through their airspace. However, Israel is yet to make a similar decision.
Do you think Israel should ban Russian airlines from landing in its airport and flying in its airspace? Let us know in the comments below.
All countries should ban Russia!