International airlines to resume normal flights to and from Beirut

All airlines, both Arab and foreign, are expected to resume normal flights to and from Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport (RHIA) between Dec. 5 and Dec. 15, 2024, Fadi al-Hassan, the airport’s director, told LBCI television on Thursday.

Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), announced in a statement on Wednesday that its flights would return to their usual schedule starting Dec. 12. In the announcement, made just hours after a cease-fire was declared between Hezbollah and Israel, MEA noted that until then, it would operate 32 additional flights between Nov. 28 and Dec. 3, with increased aircraft capacity to over 30 destinations.

Since the escalation of the war on Sept. 23, and with other airlines suspending their operations, MEA has had to fill a significant gap, maintaining its services despite daily Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, near where RHIA is located.

Les compagnies aériennes « devraient reprendre » leurs vols vers Beyrouth entre le 5 et le 15 décembre, selon le directeur de l'AIB