(Credit: Illustration Photo by Philippe Lopez/AFP)
French airline Air France confirmed on Tuesday that it is extending the suspension of its flights to Beirut until Jan. 31, 2025. This follows reports from three travel agencies, which informed L'Orient Today on Monday that they had received notifications from the airline about the extended suspension.
The agencies had initially reported that Air France had informed them the suspension would last until Jan. 31. The airline did not officially confirm the extension until 24 hours later, after its previous statement from late November had indicated flights would resume on Jan. 6.
In its updated statement, Air France confirmed that "connections between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut are suspended until Jan. 31, 2025." The airline added that the resumption of services would depend on an "assessment of the situation on the ground" and assured passengers affected by the delay would be notified individually and offered rescheduling options or refunds.
Two of the agencies explained to us on Tuesday that Air France has a code-share agreement with Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), allowing passengers booked on Air France flights between Beirut and Paris to travel on MEA-operated aircraft. The message sent to agencies suggests that Air France does not intend to operate its own flights (AF565/566) on the route before February, unless circumstances change.
EgyptAir resumes flights
Meanwhile, EgyptAir has announced it will resume flights to and from Beirut starting Dec. 19, earlier than the initially planned Dec. 27, according to two travel agencies.
Several airlines have begun resuming flights to Beirut following the cease-fire that took effect in Lebanon on Nov. 27.
SundAir resumed its Berlin-Beirut service last Friday, operating two flights a week, while German airline Condor will restart Düsseldorf-Beirut flights on Dec. 20.
Other airlines that have already resumed service include Royal Jordanian (since Dec. 1), Turkish Airlines (since Dec. 3), Ethiopian Airlines (since Dec. 8), and Qatar Airways (since Dec. 9).
Between late September and Dec. 1, Middle East Airlines (MEA) was the only carrier to continue operating flights to and from Lebanon, despite Israeli bombardments.