European aviation agency extends advisory risk for Mideast skies, including Israel, through May 1

Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel

The European aviation agency extends an advisory cautioning airlines to avoid most Middle East and Gulf airspace, including Israel, through May 1, citing “risks to civil aviation” and regional hostilities.

“A temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran, announced on 8 April 2026, has been extended,” the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) states. “However, its implementation remains uncertain and therefore requires further monitoring to assess whether it leads to a sustained reduction of risk to civil aviation.”

The EASA extended the advisory from April 24. Over the course of the Iran war and since the ceasefire with Iran, most major European airlines, including the Lufthansa Group, have continued to suspend all flight services to and from Israel through April and into May, while US carriers have pushed back their return to as far as September.

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