An Air Canada flight from Toronto to Tel Aviv, Israel, was forced to perform a go-around above Ben Gurion International Airport after reports the airport was targeted by three rockets Friday.

Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military arm, confirmed via Twitter that it had fired three M75 missiles at the airport around 11:45 a.m. local time.

An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed to Al Jazeera that rockets were fired towards the airport from the Gaza Strip.

Air Canada says that flight AC84 from Toronto altered course eight kilometers before landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport Friday morning.

“Our flight AC84 originating from Toronto was advised by Israeli Air Traffic Control (ATC) to perform a standard go-around until airspace conditions could be confirmed as safe for landing,” Air Canada spokesperson Isabelle Arthur told the Star in an email.

“Our pilots altered course following ATC’s instructions and landed 10 minutes later safely, without incident, at 12:07 local. The safety of our passengers and crew is our first priority and we will continue to monitor developments very closely.”

Arthur reported that the return flight AC85 to Toronto left Tel Aviv just before 2 p.m.

Nav Canada, Canada’s air navigation service provider, says a go-around is issued by either the pilot or air traffic control.

“A go-around is when a plane is coming in to land on its final approach and is descending down, and for a variety of reasons it isn’t safe or advisable to land,” said Michelle Bishop, Nav spokesperson. “[The pilot] pulls up and goes around to try again.”

Bishop says she can’t speculate about what would have happened if flight AC84 not been cleared to land in Tel Aviv, but adds that all aircrafts have an alternate airport in their flight plan.

“If it is not safe for an aircraft to land, you divert to another airport,” said Bishop. “You always have that in your flight plan, and are required to have enough fuel on board to go to this secondary choice.”

Alternate airports are typically close to the original destination, says Bishop. There is no set time a pilot will wait before heading to the alternate after performing a go-around – it can differ for each situation.

Bishop says she understands when people have questions after a go-around occurs.

“The public can wonder how these procedures work, but they are fairly normal occurrences,” said Bishop. “A go-around is an example of the safety system working.”

Friday’s go-around comes just three days after Air Canada joined U.S. and European airlines in suspending flights to Israel after a rocket landed near Tel Aviv airport on Tuesday.

Air Canada cancelled the daily route from Toronto to Tel Aviv shortly after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered all U.S. airlines to suspend flights to Tel Aviv for 24 hours. The directive was extended Wednesday and Air Canada followed suit.

Thursday evening’s departure from Toronto was Air Canada’s first flight after resuming operations to Israel. It departed Pearson International Airport shortly after 6 p.m.

A spokesperson from Pearson International Airport told the Star it’s the decision of individual airlines whether to fly to Tel Aviv or not.

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Germany’s two largest airlines have not yet resumed flights to Israel even though the European Aviation Safety Agency has lifted its recommendation that airlines avoid flying to Tel Aviv airport.

Air Berlin told the Associated Press that flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended until at least midday Friday, while Lufthansa said all flights to the airport on Friday have been cancelled because of ongoing security concerns.

With files from the Associated Press

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