Korean Air will resume flying to Israel on September 13, after shutting down flights to and from Israel at the beginning of Operation Protective Edge in mid-July. Korean Air was the first international carrier to halt flights to Israel, citing safety concerns over flying into Ben Gurion Airport while Hamas rockets were fired at Israel.
Officials of the airline announced that they had changed their minds on flying to Israel in light of the cease-fire announced Tuesday. The officials said they expected the cease-fire to remain in place, and that if it continued holding by mid-September, flights would be able to resume.
Korean Air has been flying to Israel since 2008. It is the first Asian airline to fly to Ben Gurion airport, flying from Seoul three times a week. El Al already flies directly to Asian destinations.