Hezbollah's retaliation: Which airlines have suspended flights to Beirut?

Several airlines canceled flights scheduled for Sunday morning to Rafik Hariri International Airport (RHIA) after Hezbollah launched hundreds of drones and rockets against military targets in Israel in retaliation for the assassination of its military chief, Fouad Shukur, in July.

The major airlines that suspended flights on Sunday include Air France, Transavia, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Jordanian Airlines and some charters, according to Chadi Abou Antoun, the deputy director of RHIA. Air France stated that its services to Tel Aviv and Beirut were suspended "at least until Monday, Aug. 26."

On Monday, Air France and Transavia announced that flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut are expected to resume "starting Tuesday," in a statement sent to AFP.

Abou Antoun noted that for some airlines, the suspension affects the entire day, while for others, it is limited to morning flights. Passengers are advised to continuously check with RHIA for flight availability.

The airport's management had previously denied that operations were completely suspended on Sunday morning.

The developments also led many airlines to suspend flights to Tel Aviv, especially since Ben Gurion Airport was closed for several hours in the morning, unlike RHIA, which continued normal operations.

The current conflict along the Blue Line, the border area, began on Oct. 8, 2023, following an attack by Hamas on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. On Sunday morning, the conflict in southern Lebanon escalated with a Hezbollah attack described as "a first response" to the assassination of one of the party's military leaders, Fouad Shukur, in southern Beirut in late July. Israel conducted heavy raids on southern Lebanese villages throughout the night and into the morning, which it described as "preventive."