Lufthansa group suspends Mideast flights

The German airline group Lufthansa said on Sunday flights to Amman, Beirut, Erbil and Tel Aviv  would be suspended at least until Monday amid the turmoil unleashed by Iran's overnight attack on Israel.

The group, which includes German flagship carrier Lufthansa, along with Swiss and Austrian airlines, would also make sure its flights did not use the airspace above Israel, Jordan and Iraq for the foreseeable future, it said in a statement to Reuters news agency.

The company had already said on Friday it was suspending flights to and from Tehran until April 18 and would not use Iranian airspace during that time.

Major disruption to air traffic

Fears of further escalation in the Middle East have led a number of airlines around the world to change their flight paths or to cancel or suspend their services.

Emirates Airlines said on Sunday it would be canceling some of its flights and re-routing others, while Kuwait Airways said early on Sunday it was diverting all incoming and outgoing flights away from "areas of tension." 

Dutch airline KLM and the Australian airline Qantas have also both said they had adjusted their flight routes to avoid flying through dangerous airspace. 

tj/rc ((Reuters, dpa)