FAA request halts US-bound flights from 42 Eurocontrol states, Israel included

Flights bound for the United States from the 42 member states of Eurocontrol, a group that includes Israel, have been suspended at the request of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Three Israeli news organisations carried the news early on November 14. Ynet reported in a breaking alert that takeoffs to the US had been suspended from 42 countries at the American aviation regulator's request, naming Israel as one of them.

The foreign desk at N12 reported that the information came from a notice posted on Eurocontrol's own website, which said every departing flight from the organisation's member states with a US destination had been put on hold following the FAA's request. The Times of Israel also carried the item on its live blog, describing US-bound flights from Eurocontrol nations as halted at the FAA's request and illustrating it with a file photograph of aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport.

What Eurocontrol and the FAA are

Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, an intergovernmental body that coordinates air traffic management across its member countries. Despite the European focus of its name, its membership extends beyond the European Union, and Israel is one of its members. According to N12, the organisation counts 42 member states in total. Because Eurocontrol coordinates flight planning and traffic flow across this network, a notice published on its website can apply to departures from the whole membership at once rather than country by country.

The Federal Aviation Administration is the US government agency responsible for civil aviation in the United States, including the safety of American airspace and the conditions under which aircraft may fly into it. The reports describe the suspension as originating with an FAA request, which Eurocontrol then communicated to its members. None of the three reports describes the suspension as a decision taken by Israeli authorities or by any individual European government.

What it means for travellers from Israel

Ben Gurion International Airport is Israel's main international gateway. Under the reports as they stand, departures from Israel to US destinations fall within the suspension along with those from every other Eurocontrol member. Ynet's alert specified that the measure concerned takeoffs toward the United States; the reports say nothing about flights travelling in the other direction, from the US to Israel or to Europe.

For readers in the diaspora, people planning aliyah, or anyone with travel booked between Israel and the United States, the practical position is that the reports confirm a suspension but give no detail on its scope beyond US-bound departures from member states. Travellers would need information from their airline or the relevant authorities, none of which is quoted in the material available so far.

How the reports compare

The three organisations agree on the core facts: the FAA asked for the suspension, it covers flights heading to the United States from Eurocontrol member states, the membership numbers 42 countries, and Israel is among them. N12 adds the detail that the source of the information was a notice on Eurocontrol's website. The Times of Israel item appeared within a live blog that was also covering unrelated diplomatic news, and it offered no further detail on the flight suspension beyond the headline fact. None of the reports quotes the FAA, Eurocontrol, the Israel Airports Authority or any airline directly.

What the reports do not say

The reports give no reason for the FAA's request, and no statement from the FAA itself is cited. They do not say how long the suspension is expected to last, when it took effect, or whether flights already in the air were affected. There is no reported response from Israel's Transport Ministry, the Israel Airports Authority, or Israeli or American carriers, and no figure for how many flights or passengers are affected.