Following Rocket Attack, FAA Grounds All Flights to Israel

Two U.S. domestic airlines, Delta and US Airways, this morning grounded flights to Israel amidst reports of a rocket attack on the small town of Yehud, which is just a few miles from Tel Aviv’s bustling Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Israelis and Hamas have been fighting in the Gaza Strip for weeks, a war that escalated with a ground attack last week by Israel.

The news comes less than a week after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile as it flew over a patch of Ukraine that has seen civil unrest. All 298 on-board were killed last Thursday.

Delta Flight 468 was already en route to Tel Aviv when the carrier made the decision to turn around as it flew over the boot of Italy and the Mediterranean Sea.

Delta Air Lines DL 468 from New York to Tel Aviv diverts to Paris after Delta decided to cancel all Tel Aviv flights pic.twitter.com/9pehQU0Iup

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 22, 2014

The flight was diverted to Paris, presumably because Delta offers more options for flights and connections out of Charles de Gaulle Airport. The Boeing 747 took off from Newark-Liberty and was carrying 273 passengers and 17 crew. Delta said all flights to Israel are cancelled until further notice.

US Airways, with a daily flight from Philadelphia to Israel, cancelled that flight today before it ever took off.

The State Department on Monday issued a travel warning to U.S. citizens thinking of going to Israel, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. However, the Federal Aviation Administration has not issued a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) about flying over the region.

"This does serve to illustrate, though, that it's individual carriers who make the decisions about their flight plans and whether or not to alter specific routes based on hostilities on the ground," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters today.

Both Norwegian Air Shuttle and Korean Air previously announced they were cancelling all flights to Israel until further notice.

UPDATE: At 12:15 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited U.S. airlines from flying to Ben Gurion International Airport for 24 hours.