United, American suspend some flights from U.S. to Middle East
Some airlines have continued to suspend flights between the United States and the Middle East amid the conflict between Israel and Iran.
United Airlines said it will pause its daily flights between New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport and Dubai "due to conflict in the region." The airline did not say when flights between the two destinations might resume. United only flies to Dubai through Newark Airport.
American Airlines said it would temporarily suspend flights between Philadelphia International Airport and Doha, Qatar. The suspension will last through June 22, an American Airlines spokesperson told CBS News. The last flight from Philadelphia to Doha before the suspension took off early Thursday morning, the airline said.
Delta Air Lines said last week that it had suspended flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv, Israel. The suspension is currently set to last until Aug. 31, the airline said.
Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel's major airport, is currently closed. U.S. airlines do not fly to Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, Iran's largest airport. International airlines, including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Lufthansa, have canceled some routes in the region, according to the air travel news site AviationA2Z.
Other flight activity has been suspended in the days since Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" against Iran. Israel has been bombing nuclear and military targets in Iran since late last week, claiming intelligence shows that Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons. Iran has responded with a barrage of retaliatory missile strikes. Following Israel's launch of Operation Rising Lion, airspace was closed over Israel, Jordan, Iran and Iraq, and Israel's Ministry of Transportation said airspace would remain closed until further notice.
President Trump has demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender." Mr Trump is weighing whether to strike Iran and formally join Israel's air campaign, a senior intelligence source and a Defense Department official told CBS News on Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the president will make a decision on whether to order a strike within the next two weeks.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem told U.S. citizens in Israel on Thursday that the State Department was making plans to "assist with private U.S. citizens' departure from Israel." Some have been evacuated aboard cruise ships.
The State Department recently placed a Level 4 travel advisory on Israel, telling Americans not to travel there due to "armed conflict, terrorism and civil unrest." Iran has been under a "Do Not Travel" advisory — the highest level — "due to the risk of terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens and wrongful detention," the State Department said.
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