U.S. Lifts Flight Restrictions For Tel Aviv

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted its restrictions on U.S. airline flights into and out of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.



Before making this decision, the agency worked with its U.S. government counterparts to assess the security situation in Israel and carefully reviewed new information and measures that the Israeli government is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation, the FAA said in a statement Thursday.



The FAA initially instituted the flight prohibition on Tuesday, in response to a rocket strike that landed approximately one mile from the airport. Then the agency extended the flight restrictions for additional 24 hours.



The U.S. State Department has been warning citizens to defer nonessential travel to Israel since early February this year because of safety concerns in Gaza.



Long-range rockets launched from Gaza since early this month have reached many locations in Israel, resulting in negative impacts on the safety of aviation there.



The FAA said it will continue to closely monitor the fluid situation around Ben Gurion Airport and will take additional actions as necessary.