Airline industry weighs ‘heightened’ concerns amid Iran-Israel tensions

As tensions rise between Iran and Israel following Tehran’s attack over the weekend, several airlines have halted their flights amid security concerns.

Air Canada joined a slew of international airlines on Saturday that cancelled their flights to Israel as the Israeli airspace was temporarily closed following a missile and drone attack by Iran.

“Due to the recent developments in the Middle East, operations to and from Tel Aviv are currently paused,” Air Canada told Global News in an emailed statement Monday.

Canada’s flagship carrier had just last week resumed flights to Tel Aviv after a six-month pause due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Air Canada said in addition to cancelling the April 13 flight from Toronto to Tel Aviv, it was also scrapping the ones on Monday and Tuesday as well as the corresponding return flights.

“The next flight from Toronto is now scheduled on Thursday, April 18,” Air Canada said.

“We are very closely monitoring the situation and will adjust accordingly.”

Even before the Iranian attack, the Canadian government increased on Friday evening its risk level for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip to “avoid all travel.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a Friday post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “Canadians should consider leaving by commercial means.”

We’ve increased our risk level for <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#Israel

and the <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/WestBank?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#WestBank to “avoid all travel”. There is a heightened risk of attacks on Israeli territory. Read our full advice for details: https://t.co/tIJ71NvHwh pic.twitter.com/LgVmFUZ62M

— Travel.gc.ca (@TravelGoC) <a