The Lebanese University said Friday that it is owed $50 million in fresh US dollars as part of agreement on the fees collected from PCR tests performed on arriving passengers at Beirut airport. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT – The Lebanese University asserted in a statement issued on Friday that airlines flying to Lebanon owe it $50 million, as part of an agreement on the fees collected from PCR tests performed on arriving passengers at Beirut airport. The Lebanese University requested the immediate transfer of the funds in fresh US dollars.
Here’s what we know:
• According to the statement, the university has been owed this sum since July 1, 2021. It said that the Health Ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation were also parties to the agreement.
• The presidency of the Lebanese University said that “the university should receive $45 out of the $50 [charged] for each PCR test” in exchange for securing the necessary staff to conduct these tests at the airport, a condition which the university has so far fulfilled.
• Airlines added PCR test fees to the price of tickets and therefore collected the fees in fresh US dollars, argued the Lebanese University, asking that airlines transfer the owed amount in foreign currency.
• “The injustice faced by the Lebanese University from airlines is an injustice to its students, professors, administrators and employees, especially given the devaluation of professors and administrators’ salaries due to the Lebanese lira’s collapse,” the statement said.