Haifa Airport Resumes International Flights After Lebanon Ceasefire Takes Effect

International flights at Haifa Airport in northern Israel resumed on Thursday after being suspended when the conflict with Iran broke out on February 28, according to statements issued by the Israel Airports Authority and the transport ministry.

While operations at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, the country’s main international gateway, resumed five days after the start of the war, flights to and from Haifa had been suspended until now due to the escalation on the Lebanon front that has resulted in massive rocket attacks on northern Israel in addition to Iranian missile strikes.

The ceasefire with Lebanon, which took effect a week ago, allowed Air Haifa airline to return to its home airport after being forced to operate from Ben Gurion during the war.

Air Haifa operates flights to nearby destinations in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, and is also expected to resume domestic flights on Sunday to the southernmost Red Sea resort city of Eilat.

According to a statement released by the US State Department on Thursday, under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel will “preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defence”, while not carrying out “any offensive military operations”.

The statement suggested that Israel can also exercise this right “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks” and that “This shall not be impeded by the cessation of hostilities.”

United States President Donald Trump announced the truce on Thursday and said it came into effect at 21:00 GMT, calling it a “historic day”.

In a post on Truth Social, he said, “May have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening.”