Flights between Israel and South Africa to suddenly end

Just ask the people of Gaza how accomplished Israel is at taking revenge.

And it now appears the national airline of Israel, El Al, is equally good at that art. 

El Al Israel Airlines has said it will scrap its South Africa route and end flights to Johannesburg within a few weeks.

Just coincidentally, the decision followed South Africa's International Court of Justice action against Israel over genocide against Palestinians.

The airline has said it will end all of its Johannesburg flights from the end of March 2024.

The long-standing service has been operated for close to 50 years, being an important link between South Africa and Israel.

The airline is the sole carrier operating flights between Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport and Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

This service is the only direct scheduled service between the two countries, meaning that it is an important connection for South African communities living in Israel, as well as South Africa’s Jewish communities who travel to Israel from Johannesburg.

There is a large Jewish population, particularly in Johannesburg's northern suburbs.

El Al Airlines said it will be scrapping its direct flights to South Africa due to "a significant fall in demand by Israeli travellers".

The axing of Johannesburg flights will allow El Al to expand the frequencies of its flights to other destinations, the airline said.

Airlines cancel flights to and from Tel Aviv

With Israel now saying it is "at war", many international airlines have cancelled scheduled flights to Tel Aviv.

US carriers United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have all temporarily suspended flights with the US Federal Aviation Administration issuing an "extreme caution" warning for airlines flying in Israeli airspace.

“Future operations at TLV will be suspended until conditions allow them to resume,” United Airlines said in a statement.

Both Delta and AA said in statements that operations to Israel had been suspended until at least Sunday, Travel Mole reported.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust our operation as needed,” American Airlines said.

Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Iberia Express. LOT and Aegean Airlines have also cancelled Tel Aviv flights but some flights are still operating to the Red Sea tourist destination of Eilat.

Tel Aviv’s main international Airport, Ben Gurion (top image), was still operating on Tuesday afternoon (Australian time) "as usual’ despite hundreds of cancelled flights, website AirlineRatings reported.

Most of the flights coming in and out of Tel Aviv were re operated by Israeli carriers El Al, Israir and Arkia, with many Israelis looking either to leave the country, or to return home. 

These airlines have added extra flights, which are also called “rescue flights.” 

These flights are usually carried out when an empty plane takes off from Tel Aviv to a destination where Israelis are stranded.