Airlines resume flights to Tel Aviv

Berlin — Air France and Germany's two biggest airlines decided Friday to resume flights to Tel Aviv after canceling operations for several days over safety concerns.

Germany's Lufthansa said it would resume flights in stages starting Saturday morning. The decision also applies to its subsidiaries Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines.

Air France said its first flight to Tel Aviv would leave Paris on Friday night. Germany's second-biggest carrier, Air Berlin, said that it would start flying midday Saturday.

Lufthansa said its decision was taken "on the basis of the most up-to-date information we have available and our own assessment of the local security situation." Air France cited "analyses carried out by the French government, other European Union countries and the United States."

The European Aviation Safety Agency on Thursday lifted a recommendation that airlines refrain from flying to Israel's main airport, which it made because of safety concerns after a Hamas missile landed nearby this week.