Israel's flag carrier El Al announced on Thursday that it is cancelling the launch of its direct route to Hanoi, Vietnam, which was planned for October.
According to the airline, the decision comes after it was unable to receive the security approvals required to operate the flights with Israeli aircraft and crews.
The airline announced the launch of the line back in February and began selling tickets a while ago. Now, two months before the scheduled launch, it decided to scrap the plan.
El Al said that before the announcement of the line, approvals were received in principle from the relevant authorities, including security authorities. The airline noted that after it completed the operational and commercial preparations and invested resources, it was notified that it would not receive the required authorization to launch the line.
According to the airline, Israeli security officials responsible for protecting Israeli aviation, acting in accordance with Shin Bet guidelines, informed the airline that they could not approve the operation of the route in the planned format. As a result, El Al determined that it would not be able to launch direct flights to the Vietnamese capital.
The airline announced that passengers who already purchased tickets may choose among several options, including: a flight to Hanoi via Bangkok with a connecting flight on a foreign company at no additional charge, a transfer to another destination on an El Al flight, a full refund, or a credit voucher for future use.
El Al explained that the cancellation of the flights in its systems would be carried out gradually according to the scheduled departure dates, and that beginning next week, dedicated notifications would be sent to the affected passengers.
It should be noted that while El Al has canceled its plans, Arkia is already operating flights to Hanoi.