An MEA airplane. (Credit: Roy Issa/AFP)
Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced in a statement that "its flights on July 30 and 31, 2024, will remain at the same schedule with the exception of certain flights." For these flights, "the return schedules have been delayed to the morning of July 31, 2024, instead of arriving during the night (of July 30 to 31)," summarized the national airline, highlighting "technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks on aircraft between Lebanon and abroad."
This measure comes as the international community fears an Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah following the deadly strike in the annexed Golan Heights on Saturday night. The attack, attributed by Israel to the Shiite party, killed 12 children and teenagers. Hezbollah has denied any connection with the strike.
Five flights adjusted
Here are the details of the 5 flights out of the 32 initially scheduled for Tuesday, whose return dates have been postponed to the morning of July 31, 2024. All flights are based on the local time of each destination.
- Flight ME431 Beirut-Dubai, initially scheduled to depart at 2:15 a.m. on July 31, will now depart at 6:10 a.m.
- Flight ME204 Beirut-London, initially scheduled to depart at 10:00 p.m. on July 30, will now depart at 9:55 a.m. on July 31.
- Flight ME443 Beirut-Dammam, initially scheduled to depart at 8:55 p.m. on July 30, will now depart at 6:25 a.m. on July 31.
- Flight ME369 Beirut-Jeddah, initially scheduled to depart at 9:15 p.m. on July 30, will now depart at 6:05 a.m. on July 31.
- Flight ME226, initially scheduled to depart at 10:30 p.m. on July 30, will now depart at 3:00 a.m. on July 31.
Here are the schedules of the 4 flights out of 38 whose times have been modified on Wednesday:
- Flight ME426 Dubai-Beirut will depart at 9:30 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m.
- Flight ME427 Beirut-Dubai will depart at 2:45 p.m. instead of 12:45 p.m.
- Flight ME215 Brussels-Beirut will depart at 8:50 a.m. instead of 7:05 a.m.
- Flight ME216 Beirut-Brussels will depart at 1:20 p.m. instead of 11:35 a.m.
MEA informs that passengers who have exclusively booked on the mentioned flights can modify their reservation once, free of charge.
The airline has also decided to operate an additional flight to Athens, ME253/254, to ensure the return of Lebanese citizens stranded in this city due to the suspension of flights by other airlines to Lebanon. Flight ME253 from Beirut to Athens will depart at 6:00 p.m., and flight ME254 from Athens to Beirut will depart at 8:55 p.m.
