Germany’s national airline group Lufthansa, which encompasses Swiss International Air Lines, Eurowings and Lufthansa, announced on Monday that it is suspending flights to Beirut until August 5. This decision is due to safety concerns stemming from the recent escalations in the Middle East.
In its statement, Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings reported that they canceled three flights to Beirut, which were scheduled for Monday afternoon. This information was confirmed by Beirut International Airport’s departure and arrival board and the FlightRadar24 flight-tracking website.
Similarly, Air France and Transavia suspended their services to Beirut on Monday and Tuesday.
Lebanon’s flag carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), also announced on Monday has announced that its flights for July 29 and July 30, 2024 will remain unchanged, with the exception of 5 out of 35 flights whose return has been delayed to the morning of July 30, 2024 instead of arriving after midnight, for technical reasons linked to the distribution of aircraft insurance risks between Lebanon and abroad.
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When contacted by This is Beirut on Monday morning, MEA’s communications office indicated that no further changes were planned for Monday’s flights. The situation may change depending on developments on the ground, and further updates will be posted on the airline’s website.
Turkish Airlines also canceled two flights on Sunday evening, according to FlightRadar24.
Other airlines that canceled flights arriving in Beirut on Monday include Sun Express Cost (a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines), Greek airline Aegean Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines.
These cancellations follow a rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday afternoon, which resulted in the deaths of 12 Syrian Druze and reignited fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel blamed Hezbollah for the attack, which the pro-Iranian group denied.
Israel’s security cabinet authorized the government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, to respond to the attack.
