US and European airlines suspended flights to Israel's Ben Gurion
airport after a rocket landed one mile (1.6km) away.
The US Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) ordered three US carriers
that fly to Israel - Delta, United and US Airways - to halt flights
for 24 hours.
Europe's aviation regulator is also urging airlines not to fly to Tel Aviv.
The suspension prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
ask the US to renew flights to Israel.
Mr Netanyahu asked US Secretary of State John Kerry for help lifting
the FAA ban, which comes amidst heightened scrutiny over flights near
conflict zones.
Earlier in the day, Israel's transportation ministry said: "Ben Gurion
Airport is safe and completely guarded and there is no reason
whatsoever that American companies would stop their flights and hand
terror a prize."
European reaction
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it "strongly
recommends" that airlines should avoid operating to and from Tel Aviv.
Even before the announcement, Lufthansa - which includes Swiss,
Germanwings and Austrian Airlines - said it had decided to suspend
flights to Israel for two days.
KLMand Air France also said they had suspended flights ahead of the
EASA's advisory.
EasyJet, Air Canada, and Alitalia also said they had cancelled flights.
Flight diverted
Delta said a flight from New York City to Tel Aviv was diverted to
Paris on Tuesday after Israeli police confirmed that a rocket landed
approximately one mile (1.6km) from Ben Gurion airport.
Both Deltaand United said they had suspended operations in Israel for
the near future - beyond the FAA's 24-hr period.
US Airways said it had not yet made a decision.
Mike Boyd, an aviation expert and founder of the Boyd group, said that
while the FAA had suspended flights before, those have mostly been to
more "obscure" places. He said the last time the regulator had
suspended flights to Israel was in 1973, although others had indicated
flights were suspended during the 1991 Gulf war.
Mr Boyd said the suspension was unlikely to lead to any significant
losses at US airlines.
"When the US State Department advises consumers not to travel to
Israel, passenger bookings on Delta and United flights go to zero," he
told the BBC.
British Airways said in responseto questions on Twitter: "We are
closely monitoring the situation.
Our flights are currently operating as scheduled."
The halt in service comes less than a week after Israel began a ground
operation in Gaza, and as airlines around the world re-think their
flight paths over conflict areas in the wake of the crash of Malaysia
Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.
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