Are US airlines taking a dangerous risk putting US airline passengers in harm’s way for having resumed flights to Tel Aviv, Israel?

Was the FAA decision to lift a recent ban on flights to Israel politically motivated?

Aviation accident lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter states in the Bloomberg interview, “From a legal standpoint, the FAA is charged with protecting the lives of Americans…the airlines have an obligation to protect the lives of their passengers, and if something goes wrong it’s their burden to show that they did do everything to protect the lives of their passengers, and that they did not take unnecessary risks.”

When asked what the liabilities are in cases where something goes wrong, and a commercial airline crash occurs over territories where there is major conflict, the lawyer further asserts, “If things go wrong, then we’re dealing with a failure mode.”

Recently, a universal no-fly area was declared over eastern Ukraine after a Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down. This has impacted the industry as a whole according to US attorney Jonathan C. Reiter, who says the “situation of shooting down the plane over Ukraine has created such an atmosphere of terror worldwide about the aviation industry that I think it has influenced the situation. I think many people feel that way.”

After a missed rocket attack on Eilat holiday resort, Airlines in Europe seemed to be more careful. The Lufthansa Group suspends flights from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium to Tel Aviv for another 24 hours due to security concerns. This may very well be extended until daily evaluation

We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers by this decision, however their safety is our highest priority. Passengers who were booked on one of the cancelled flights can rebook free of charge or have the price of the ticket refunded. Our staff at the airports and in the service centres will of course do everything possible to help our passengers.

Following a risk analysis of the situation in Tel Aviv and intensive consultation, as recommended by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the Lufthansa Group has decided to suspend services to Ben Gurion Airport also on Friday, 25 July 2014.

Lufthansa acknowledges the considerable efforts made by Israel to provide the best possible protection for Ben Gurion Airport with the “Iron Dome” shield. As soon as this protection can be verifiably guaranteed, we will resume flight operations.

This applies to all flights of Lufthansa, Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines on Friday, 25 July 2014. Our airlines have a total of 16 flights scheduled from Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels to Tel Aviv tomorrow. These flights will be cancelled today.