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(BBC) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended all flights into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport for a period of 24 hours after a rocket landed near the airport.
The three US carriers that fly to Israel – Delta, United and US Airways – confirmed suspension of all service.
European carriers such as Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France have also cancelled flights.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny over flights near conflict zones.
Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority director Giora Romm said: “We are working together with the FAA to demonstrate to them the level of confidence that we have in Ben Gurion Airport and to convince them to renew flights as soon as possible.”
‘As soon as possible’
The FAA’s prohibition only applies to US airlines. The agency has no authority over foreign airlines operating to or from the airport.
However, Lufthansa – which includes Swiss, Germanwings and Austrian Airlines – said it had decided to suspend flights to Israel for two days.
KLM and Air France also said they had suspended flights scheduled to depart on Tuesday.
However, Air France said a flight scheduled for Wednesday is still scheduled to depart.
Delta said a flight from New York City to Tel Aviv was diverted to Paris on Tuesday after Israeli police confirmed that a rocket landed approximately one mile (1.6km) from Ben Gurion airport.
British Airways said in response to questions on Twitter: ‘We are closely monitoring the situation. Our flights are currently operating as scheduled.”