By Douglas Gillison, Joanna Plucinska and Sophie Yu
(Reuters) -Major international air carriers have suspended or reined in flight services to or from Tel Aviv after a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve.
Israel's national carrier El Al was the exception, adding more flights to bring reservists back from around the world to assist in the country's biggest mobilization in history.
Fighters from the Islamist group killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens in Saturday's attacks, the deadliest such incursion in decades, prompting Israel to retaliate by pounding the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Israel's tourism sector, driven by beach- and party-goers in Tel Aviv and historical tours to sites like Jerusalem, is set to take a major hit as flight cancellations pile up. Tourism makes up 3.6% of total employment, according to OECD data.
Tourism bookings were 18% below pre-pandemic levels and had been rising earlier this year, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys, but took a hit on the back of political turmoil, particularly with American tourists.
Regulators including the United States' Federal Aviation Administration, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Israel's aviation authority urged airlines to use caution in the region's airspace, but stopped short of suspending flights.
Israel's civil aviation authority asked airlines to "review current security and threat information" amid the conflict, and changed some air traffic routes. It noted that delays were expected and advised airlines to carry extra fuel.
On Sunday, U.S. air carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines suspended direct flights following the FAA's caution advisories.
The U.S. airlines normally run direct services from major cities such as New York, Chicago, Washington, DC and Miami.
United said it had run two scheduled flights to the United States from Israel late on Saturday and early on Sunday but then suspended services. Delta representatives said flights this week were canceled and the situation was being monitored.
Shares of U.S. carriers dropped on Monday following a jump in oil prices, a major cost for airlines. American fell 5.3% to near one-year low, while United slid 5.5% to a more than 10-month low. Delta slid 5.3%.
AIRLINE RESPONSES
In Europe, Air France and Finland's Finnair suspended direct flights.
Britain's easyJet halted flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday, and said it would adjust the timings of flights over the next few days.
Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.
"Wizz Air is the most affected group with its operations accounting for some 9.4% of Israel's total October capacity and ... representing some 2.3% of the carrier's total schedules," Irish brokerage Goodbody said.
Lufthansa group, also among the airlines most exposed to Israel according to Goodbody, canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv through Monday.
Portugal's TAP suspended flights up until Monday and offered refunds or rescheduling at no additional cost.
Virgin Atlantic said it would continue to run some flights but that customers could rebook or request a refund until Oct. 15.
Shares in British airlines fell on Monday as oil prices climbed amid the military conflict in the Middle East. Fuel is one of the biggest costs for carriers. British Airways-owner IAG was down 5%, Wizz Air sank 6% to almost a one-year low and easyJet fell 4.8%.
Some airlines continued to fly to Israel.
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 listed upcoming Ben Gurion airport arrivals from airlines including Ryanair, flyDubai and national carrier El Al.
With its most popular routes flying in and out of Istanbul around 107 times per week, Ben Gurion airport saw a major drop in scheduled versus tracked flights this past weekend, with 350 scheduled for Sunday and 197 tracked, according to FlightRadar data.
Israel's airports authority said Ben Gurion continued to handle arrivals and departures. Asked if any other security precautions were being taken, the airports authority did not immediately respond.
Hainan Airlines, the only Chinese airline to fly between China and Israel, and other airlines flying from Hong Kong and South Korea, canceled flights between Tel Aviv and Shanghai on Monday.
Hainan said it would continue flights linking Beijing and the southern tech hub of Shenzhen with Tel Aviv while waiving fees for cancellations before Oct. 20.
For more details on flight suspensions and cancellations, see this FACTBOX.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison, Sophie Yu, Farah Master, Joyce Lee and Brenda Goh, Tim Hepher, Ilona Wissenbach, Sergio Goncalves in Lisbon, Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, Sarah Young and Joanna Plucinska in London, Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Bernadette Baum)
