FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The Lufthansa Group has canceled its flights to the crisis region of the Middle East for another week. All flights to and from Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Erbil will be suspended up to and including Wednesday (August 21), the company announced in Frankfurt. Until then, the Group's companies will also not use the airspace over Iraq and Iran. The previous flight suspension was in place until Tuesday (August 13).

The background to this is the tensions between Israel and Iran, which give rise to fears of war in the region - far beyond the Gaza Strip. Lufthansa is offering travelers with tickets up to and including 31 August free cancellations. The flight suspension applies to all of the Group's airlines and to cargo and passenger aircraft alike. In addition to the core airline, the Lufthansa Group also includes Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings./ceb/DP/stk