The President of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon, Jean Abboud, has revealed that even though the ceasefire is now in force, Arab and foreign airlines will not be able to resume direct service to Beirut International Airport.
He told This is Beirut that Lebanon had “not yet received any information or feedback from foreign airlines concerning a possible resumption of flights to Beirut.” Nevertheless, Abboud assures us that “demand for flights to Beirut has soared, especially from Arab countries.”
This leads him to assume that “by Monday, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airline, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines and Cyprus Airways will resume their flights, suspended since the start of the war.” He estimates that 7 or 8 of the 60 airlines serving Lebanon will resume flights to the country.
He pointed out that airlines have already rescheduled their flights without Lebanon, which means that many airlines will not be able to operate flights to Beirut until early next year. He stressed that “it's not easy, once you've withdrawn a destination, to reschedule it immediately.”
In view of the growing demand, the national airline MEA is now providing additional flights to London, Paris, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
Abboud reported that the occupancy rate of the aircraft operated by MEA, the only airline operating in Lebanon, is between 85 and 90%.
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