Airlines, cruise lines and tour operators have temporarily halted service in Israel as war rages in the Middle East.
Air Canada and other major airlines have temporarily halted flights to Israel, and the Canadian government is warning citizens to avoid all but essential visits in response to the surprise Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli government’s retaliatory strikes. Some 900 people have been killed in Israel and roughly 650 have died in Gaza due to retaliatory air strikes, CNN reports.
The official government of Canada travel advisory site says Canadians should “avoid non-essential travel in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” It also says to avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza Strip-based terrorists, and to avoid travel to the parts of the Golan Heights that border Syria, east of Highway 98, due to militant and Israel Defense Forces activity.
Air Canada said it was temporarily cancelling flights to Tel Aviv as of Sunday. Officials said the airline has a “goodwill policy” in place to enable passengers flying to/from Tel Aviv to make changes to their travel, including options for a refund.
Air Canada says it will resume operations when the situation stabilizes. No one can predict how long that will take, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is embarking on a “long and difficult war.”
Delta Airlines said its Tel Aviv flights have been cancelled “into this week,” while American said it also has temporarily suspended flights to and from the city.
Al Jazeera’s website says about half of all scheduled flights at the airport did not operate on Sunday and a third were cancelled as of Monday evening.
G Adventures said it has no tours currently operating, and travellers on the ground who were due to join an upcoming trip are in the process of being contacted to ensure they are safe and accounted for.
Tel Aviv, Israel. Shai Pal – Unsplash Photo
“Given the rapidly escalating situation and in the interest of the safety and security of our travellers, G Adventures has cancelled six tours in Israel departing up to Friday, 15 October 2023. These are the Israel & Jordan: Ancient Sites & Epic Nights, departing on October 8, the Israel Explorer departing on October 8, 13 and 15, and Israel and Beyond, departing October 10 and 15,” a spokesperson said. “We are reaching out to impacted travellers to update them on the situation and are advising those who are in Israel ahead of their trip to adhere to instructions from local authorities, register their presence with their embassy or consulate and begin making arrangements to leave the country as soon as possible.
Goway said it has canceled all trips travelling until the end November with full refunds, while Intrepid Travel has canceled all tours in Israel and the Palestinian Territories up until and including Oct. 31, 2023.
Multiple reports say several cruise lines have canceled scheduled visits to Israel in the wake of the fighting. That includes two scheduled Royal Caribbean visits by Odyssey of the Seas and a scheduled visit by Celebrity’s Apex.
Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ships were docked in Haifa, Israel at the time of the Hamas attacks, according to marineinsight.com. Some Holland America Line passengers were visiting the Dead Sea and were quickly transported back to the ship.
Celestyal Cruises said it will stop calling in Israel through the end of November.
“Firstly, as a business, our thoughts are with those impacted by the events in Israel,” said Celestyal CEO Chris Theophilides. “We wish for the safety of all the souls affected and a rapid return of peace to the country. We are in close coordination with the authorities, and the safety, security, and comfort of our guests remains our upmost priority. On the advice of our internal teams and the relevant authorities we have decided to temporarily remove Israel from our Three Continents itinerary until the end of November this year.
“Our teams will be contacting any affected customers to advise them of the updates to their itineraries and the additional provisions that have been made to ensure their continued enjoyment.”
