The US Federal Aviation Administration has chosen to lift its ban on US based carriers on flying to Tel Aviv.
The lift comes at 23:45 EST will allow operators to re-commence services if they choose to.
In their release, the FAA states:
The FAA has lifted its restrictions on U.S. airline flights into and out of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport by cancelling a Notice to Airmen it renewed earlier today. The cancellation is effective at approximately 11:45 p.m. EDT.
Before making this decision, the FAA worked with its U.S. government counterparts to assess the security situation in Israel and carefully reviewed both significant new information and measures the Government of Israel is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation.
The ban was put in place due to a rocket landing near Ben Gurion airport on 22nd July.
The European safety agency as yet have not changed their advice , with European carriers strongly advised to avoid Tel Aviv.
Carriers are still avoiding the area, with many European carriers choosing not to operate.
Expect continued delays as airlines evaluate if they are happy to return to Tel Aviv – and when they consider it safe to do so.
Phew, glad so much changed in the real air security and threat situation in 12 hours. This well-timed release certainly avoids the appearance they furiously backtracked when some southern politician said the ban was the equivalent of an economic sanction against Israel. Good on the FAA for passing the buck onto airlines to assess liability–I certainly know I want the experience and genius of companies like American and United assessing middle-eastern politics and military engagement.