EgyptAir suspends Saturday flights to Baghdad, Erbil, Amman due to regional military escalation between Iran, Israel

CAIRO: 26 October 2024: Egyptian national airline, EgyptAir, announced that flights to Baghdad and Erbil have been cancelled today until the situation in the region stabilizes.

The company added in a statement that it was decided to cancel its flight number (MS0719) to Amman today. EgyptAir asked customers to review their reservations by contacting EgyptAir's call center.

In light of the approach of the title-for-tat military attacks, Israel launched airstrikes against military sites in Iran early Saturday, in response to Iran’s attacks  against Israel on October 1. 

In a statement, Egypt said it is following with great concern the dangerous and accelerating escalation in the Middle East, following the Israeli attack on Iran on early Saturday.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry added that Egypt  condemned all measures that threaten the security and stability of the region and lead to fueling the fragile situation in the region and igniting the state of tension and intensifying the conflict in the region.

Egypt also warned of the risks of the current escalation, which may lead- whether intentionally or as a result of miscalculations- to the region slipping into a dangerous confrontation that threatens regional and international security.

Additionally, Egypt stressed its position calling for a quick ceasefire in the Gaza Strip within the framework of a deal that would release Israeli and Palestinian prisoners, as the only way to reduce escalation and establish the required calm in this critical circumstance in the region. 

It also renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and the necessity of respecting Lebanese sovereignty over all its territories. 

Egypt reiterated its call for the necessity of respecting international law, international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations, and not infringing on the sovereignty of states and respecting the unity and integrity of their territories.

Israeli Army announced in a statement on Saturday that it launched 20 airstrikes against Iranian military sites, while Tehran downsizes this number. The Israeli Army  added that it attacked missile manufacturing facilities and surface-to-air missile arrays and aerial capabilities in Iran.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will issue a statement on the Israeli attacks on Iran. 

Meanwhile, Iranian media say that the attacks were away from the Imam Khomeini International Airport and it is operating normally. 

In October 1, 2024, Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israeli military targets, marking its most substantial military offensive against Israel, and around double the size of a previous Iranian missile attack last April.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said the assault comes in retaliation for the Israeli assassinations of leader of Lebanese Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah near Beirut on Friday and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last July.

The tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and Israel occurred amid the nonstop Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.