Flying to Israel? You might end up in Europe

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A Lufthansa flight from Munich to Israel made an unscheduled landing in Larnaca, Cyprus on Thursday morning due to heightened tensions in the region. 

The airline gave passengers the option of disembarking in Larnaca but did not offer them any assistance in completing their journey to Israel and informed them that their luggage would be returning to Munich with the plane, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News. Some 20 Israelis disembarked without their luggage, with the rest returning to Munich, according to the report.

A Lufthansa spokesperson provided the following statement: “Lufthansa flight LH682 from Munich to Tel Aviv, which is currently being routed through Larnaca for operational reasons, will return to Munich after landing in Larnaca at 2:43 a.m. (CEST) this morning. This diversion is a precautionary measure due to security-related activities. The planned connecting flight from Larnaca to Tel Aviv, as well as the return flight LH683 from Tel Aviv to Munich scheduled for today, have been canceled. We will offer alternative flights to all affected passengers. At this time, our remaining flights scheduled for today are proceeding as planned. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew remains our utmost priority.”

The move comes after the airline canceled two nighttime flights to Israel on Monday amid spiraling tensions between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. Lufthansa had previously canceled all service to Beirut until August 5.

In a parallel incident, an Austrian Airlines flight landed in Sofia instead of Ben Gurion Airport, similarly stranding passengers. Rachel, an Israeli passenger on the diverted Austrian flight, recounted her experience to Israel Hayom: “Approximately 40 minutes before we were due to land, we were informed of a change in our destination. They told us we would be landing in Bulgaria to refuel before returning to Vienna. Now, after more than six hours in the air, we’ve arrived in Vienna with no clear direction on what to do next.”

Originally published by Israel Hayom.