Washington, July 23 (IANS): Two major US civil aviation giants, Delta Airlines and US Airways announced Tuesday that they have cancelled flights to Israel due to safety and security concerns.
According to FlightAware.com, a flight tracking service, Delta, which typically flies between New York's JFK Airport and Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, has decided to suspend its service indefinitely, Xinhua reported.
Delta Flight 468, a Boeing 747 with 273 passengers and 17 crew members, diverted to Paris Tuesday after reports of a rocket fired near Tel Aviv, the airline said on the website.
US Airways also cancelled a flight to Israel Tuesday. Flight 796, which began in Los Angeles, was cancelled in Philadelphia before leaving for Tel Aviv.
United Airlines cancelled flights 84 and 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv, according to FlightAware.com.
The US Federal Aviation Administration and other government agencies are now working to monitor the situation and so far there is no time schedule for resuming the flights.
The US State Department has been warning people to defer nonessential travel to Israel since February 3 due to safety reasons in Gaza.
Long-range rockets launched from Gaza since early this month have reached many locations in Israel, resulting impacts that have raised safety concerns for aviation there.