Lufthansa extends suspension of Middle East flights

The Lufthansa Group is extending its flight cancellations to the Middle East for another week. That includes all flights to and from Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Erbil until August 21, the company announced in Frankfurt.

The group's companies will also not be using the airspace over Iraq and Iran.

The suspension is in response to the continuing tensions between Israel and Iran, which have given rise to fears of war in the region spreading far beyond the Gaza Strip.The previous flight suspension was set to last until Tuesday.

The flight suspension applies to all of the group's carriers, including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, and to cargo and passenger aircraft alike. Lufthansa is offering free cancellations to travelers with tickets up to and including August 31.

Other airlines also suspend flights

Air France said it had also extended the suspension of its flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut, as well as flights to and from Lebanon operated by its subsidiary, Transavia France, until next Wednesday due to the security situation in Lebanon.

Air France first suspended flights to Beirut on July 29 after a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said it was canceling all flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv from Tuesday until August 26 "due to operational restrictions which are beyond our control." The airline did not elaborate.

ch/nm (dpa, AFP)