Lufthansa Halts Flights to Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Kurdistan

Lufthansa, the flag carrier of Germany has announced the cancellation of more flights in the Middle East region as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel. In a group statement, the airline announced that it is temporarily taking down flights from Germany to Amman in Jordan, Beirut in Lebanon, and Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.

As this is a group statement, other airlines like Swiss and Austrian Airlines will also follow suit. Lufthansa has already put Tel Aviv flights on halt since April 6.

Lufthansa Cancels Flights: Monitoring the Situation

A spokesperson from Lufthansa told News Agency AFP that the airline is consistently monitoring the conflict situation. Hence, it has decided to suspend these flights. Similar to Tel Aviv, the flight operations to Beirut will remain suspended till April 18.

On April 6, the airline announced flight suspension between Munich and Tehran. On April 11, it announced an extension till April 18. The airline is in close contact with authorities.

On 13 April, many Middle East countries like Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq closed their airspace. Now, most of them have relaxed the restrictions.

Along with flight cancellations to Iran, Lufthansa has also avoided the usage of Iranian airspace. The Munich to Singapore flight is now stopping at Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport for a fuel stopover. Lufthansa flights to South and Southeast Asia are also avoiding the Iranian airspace and are overflying the Saudia Airspace bypassing any potential threat. The Munich to Bangkok flight is taking a fuel stopover at Dubai World Central Airport (DWC).

Hong Kong to Frankfurt flight, which previously used to fly over the Indian airspace and then via Iran airspace is taking a longer route flying over the Chinese airspace, avoiding both Afghan as well as Iran airspace.

Global Airlines Facing Issues

Lufthansa is not the only airline facing issues because of these tensions. Most of the airlines flying to and from Asia and Europe internationally have some concerns. Qantas has stopped its Perth to London service temporarily. Airlines like Malaysia Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, IndiGo, Air India, etc are avoiding the Iran airspace. Air India just an hour ago announced the suspension of Tel Aviv flights.

Similar to the long-haul flights of Lufthansa, Air India is also taking fuel stopovers at Dubai World Central Airport. AI Flight 380 from Mumbai to San Francisco has opted for DWC as a fuel stop.

KLM flights are also avoiding Iranian airspace for flights to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur.

Welcoming a New Product

Lufthansa has announced the incoming of a new Airbus A350 aircraft with a brand-new Allegris cabin. The aircraft arrived to Munich from Toulouse on April 13. With an investment of €2.5B, the airline is refurbishing its aircraft with this new cabin. This aircraft will feature 4 First (Suite Plus), 38 Business, 24 Premium Economy, and 201 Economy Class seats. It bears D-AIXT as registration and is named after the City of Leipzig. As it was a delivery flight, it was operated with a 17% blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Across the Boeing and A350 widebody fleet of Lufthansa, around 27,000 new seats will be fitted. Even the not-yet-certified Boeing 777X will have this cabin.

What do you think about this new product of Lufthansa? When do you think the suspension on Middle East flights will be revoked? Discuss in the comments section.