NORTH WINDHAM — The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a 24-hour ban on U.S. flights in and out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.
The move is in response to a rocket attack that struck a target about one mile away from the airport. Aviation experts also believe the downing of MH17 last week played a major role in the decision.
In Connecticut, some travelers are scrambling to find alternate travel arrangements, while others are outright canceling their plans.
“You have to decide: do you still want to travel there?” says Andrea Barletta of Lebanon. She and her family had to cancel their flight to Tel Aviv, which was scheduled for August 5th. “Even if this ends in a few days do you still want to take the risk and go? One of our biggest fears is being trapped in the country and as you can see they closed down the airport and that could happen and we can’t get back.”
Barletta is hoping for a full refund from her carrier under the circumstances, but says the process of getting a refund is proving very difficult.
European carriers have also alerted passengers, and once the FAA restriction is lifted it will be up to individual U.S. carriers to decide whether to resume service.