Delta Air Lines made its decision to halt flights to Tel Aviv before U.S. regulators ordered the same for other airlines, Chief Executive Richard Anderson said on Wednesday. He also indicated Delta was not rushing into resuming its Tel Aviv flights, even as opposition to the FAA's order mounted.

"We plan these things conservatively but we're going to need concrete information from our government that lets us draw an independent conclusion and keeping with our much higher duty of care that it's going to be safe for our passengers and our employees," Anderson said. Federal aviation officials issued an order to airlines Tuesday prohibiting them from flying to and from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport for 24 hours after a rocket struck near the airport earlier in the day. The Federal Aviation Administration will review the order when the ban's time period expires. German airline Lufthansa said Wednesday it is extending a suspension of flights to Israel for another 24 hours, saying there was not enough new information to justify resuming flights without danger of rocket fire from Gaza.

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IN-DEPTH

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