British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv was forced to divert back after a decision not to land at Israel’s main airport due to security concerns.

The Airbus A350 had flown almost all of its 2,233-mile journey before making a U-turn.

A spokesperson for British Airways said: “Safety is always our highest priority and following the latest assessment of the situation we’re suspending our flights to and from Tel Aviv.

“We’re contacting customers booked to travel to or from Tel Aviv to apologise for the inconvenience and offer options including a full refund and rebooking with another airline or with British Airways at a later date.”