An Air France Boeing 777-200ER prepares to land at Beijing International Airport on September 6, 2024. (Credit: Adek Berry/AFP)
Three travel agencies told L'Orient-Le Jour that Air France flights to Lebanon will remain suspended until the beginning of February, while a spokesperson for the airline confirmed that the suspension of its Beirut service will continue until Jan. 5, as announced at the end of November.
When contacted, these agencies stated that they had received messages from the company indicating that the suspension of its flights had been extended until Jan. 31 inclusive. “However, Kanchan Khushalani, Air France's regional communications manager, told our publication: “In accordance with the latest press release available to us, the suspension is scheduled to run until Jan. 5, 2025."
For its part, Egypt Air announced the resumption of flights to and from Beirut from Dec. 19, according to two travel agencies. The suspension of service was due to continue until Dec. 27.
Several airlines have recently decided to resume service to Beirut, following the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah on Nov. 27. SundAir resumed flights between Berlin and the Lebanese capital last Friday, and will operate two flights a week. German airline Condor Flugdienst GmbH will resume its Düsseldorf-Beirut flights from Dec. 20. Other airlines have already resumed flights to Beirut, including Royal Jordanian (since Dec. 1), Turkish Airlines (since Dec. 3), Ethiopian Airlines (since Dec. 8) and Qatar Airways (since Dec. 9).
Between the end of September and Dec. 1, only the national carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) continued to take off and land its planes in Lebanon, despite the Israeli bombardments.