Lebanon flights suspended as Hezbollah-Israel tensions soar

An information board shows some cancelled flights, at the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon Tuesday. REUTERS

International airlines have in recent weeks suspended growing numbers of flights to Lebanon as tensions rise between Hezbollah and Israel.

The suspensions have multiplied following a day of Israeli bombardment that Lebanon’s authorities said killed 558 on Monday — the country’s deadliest toll since a war between the longtime rivals in 2006.

United Arab Emirates-based Emirates announced the temporary suspension of its flights to Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday. Its sister airline flydubai also cancelled flights to Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The safety of our crew and customers is of utmost importance and will not be compromised,” Emirates said in a statement.

Qatar Airways, which operates two flights a day to the Lebanese capital, also cancelled services for two days.

“Due to the ongoing situation in Lebanon, Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport until September 25,” it said in a statement.

Air France on Tuesday extended the suspension of its Beirut flights until October 1, which a spokesman told AFP was due to the “security situation”.

Flights to and from the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, suspended by Air France last week, were operating “normally” after resuming at the weekend, the spokesman added.

Germany’s Lufthansa had already suspended Beirut flights until October 26.

But on Tuesday it also extended the suspension of flights to and from Israel’s Tel Aviv and Iranian capital Tehran up to and including October 14 in response to the tensions.
Lufthansa was continuing to “monitor the situation closely and will assess it further in the coming days”, it said on its website.

Egypt’s state-owned flag carrier likewise said in a statement it was suspending all its flights to Beirut on Tuesday until the situation in Lebanon stabilises.

All flights by Jordanian airlines to Beirut have been suspended until further notice in light of increasing regional tensions, the Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission said on Monday.

The suspension notably affects flag carrier Royal Jordanian.