El Al Suspends Flights Over Oman on Route to Bangkok

Israeli airline El Al announced on Monday that it has temporarily suspended flights over Omani airspace on its way to Bangkok for safety reasons. In February, El Al became the first Israeli national airline to use a new route over Saudi Arabia and Oman, after Muscat joined Riyadh in allowing Israeli civilian flights to pass through their airspaces. An El Al spokesperson stated that there is no specific threat to its aircraft, but the company preferred to return to a route over Saudi Arabia instead of Oman, resulting in an extended flight time between Tel Aviv and Bangkok to 11 hours from eight hours. The spokesperson added that the company is seeking to find a new route over Oman and has requested approval from Omani officials. Israel has tightened security measures across all its transportation networks since the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.