Aviation market unmoved despite Houthis campaign on Israel airports

By Michael Jones

May 6 - (The Insurer) - The announcement by Yemen's Houthi rebels of a “comprehensive” aerial blockade on Israel through the targeting of its airports will not result in any change of approach to the country by aviation insurers, two senior aviation market sources told The Insurer.

• Aviation insurers maintain approach despite Houthi threats

• Iron Dome cited as important factor in insurers' decision

• Various airlines cancel flights to Israel

The Iran-aligned Houthis said this in a statement that also saw it claim responsibility for a missile strike on Sunday near Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion Airport.

Houthi forces called "upon all international airlines to take this announcement into serious consideration ... and to cancel all their flights to the airports of the criminal Israeli enemy, in order to safeguard the safety of their aircraft and passengers," an email to the International Air Transport Association, the global airlines body, and the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organisation said.

Two senior aviation war market sources said that aviation insurers’ approach to Israel would remain largely unchanged in the aftermath of the strike and follow-up statement by the Houthis.

They both said that one element of this was the continued presence of the Iron Dome, Israel’s short-range missile defence system, although one senior war market source emphasised that it was “clearly not foolproof”.

One senior aviation broking source said the unchanged environment was also a reflection of the large number of airlines cancelling their operations to Israel until they consider it safe. They said that airlines’ approach was more risk-averse than insurers'.

Some global airlines, including Lufthansa Group, United Airlines and Ryanair, halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after Sunday’s attack.

Foreign airlines had begun to resume flights to Israel after a ceasefire deal with Hamas in January. Many of these carriers had halted them for much of the period since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.