One of the halls of Beirut international airport. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/ L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — On Thursday, Lebanese authorities denied a plane from Tehran permission to land at Beirut international airport, sparking protests along the airport road that prompted the Lebanese Army's intervention.
According to Lebanese media reports, the aircraft was operated by Mahan Air, a private Iranian airline that regularly flies between Beirut and Tehran. The flight, scheduled to depart at 2:30 p.m. Tehran time (1:00 p.m. Beirut time), was canceled after Lebanese authorities denied it landing rights.
In a video shared on social media, a passenger who was supposed to be on the Tehran flight said the travelers were Lebanese from "Baalbek, Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon," returning from a visit to the Imam Reza shrine in Iran. Addressing the Lebanese president, prime minister and parliament speaker, he said: "You want to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in Lebanon? Fine. But send us MEA," referring to the national carrier, Middle East Airlines. "We don’t have any money — otherwise, we would have taken another flight via Turkey," he added.
As of Thursday evening, the option of dispatching an MEA plane to bring the stranded passengers to Beirut was "still under consideration," according to a well-informed source cited by L’Orient-Le Jour.
The Lebanese General Directorate of Civil Aviation said in a statement Monday evening that "to ensure the safety of Beirut international airport, Lebanese airspace, and all passengers ... additional safety measures have been implemented in line with international standards and conventions." It added that “the correct application of these measures requires more time to be respected by certain airlines, which has led to a temporary readjustment of the schedules of certain flights to Lebanon, including those from Iran, until Feb. 18, 2025," — a date that coincides with the deadline for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The directorate also said it is working with MEA to arrange a flight "this evening to transport Lebanese passengers stranded at Tehran airport."
Anger and protests
The decision reportedly sparked frustration among passengers at Tehran’s airport and their waiting relatives at Beirut airport. A video posted on social media platform X shows an irate passenger shouting at the airport, claiming he had been waiting "since the morning" for the flight's arrival, though its authenticity could not be verified.
Shortly after, calls to block the road to Beirut Airport circulated on messaging platforms. A group of protesters blocked the main road leading to Beirut international airport, while several young men set fire to tires at the airport entrance, chanting slogans in support of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Abbas al-Mussawi, who was assassinated by Israel, according to the official National News Agency (NNA).
The Lebanese Army was deployed to the scene, and a video sent to L’Orient-Le Jour shows soldiers in a physical altercation with a man waving a Hezbollah flag.
Protesters also blocked the old airport road, which connects the Tayouneh crossing to Beirut international airport, around 7 p.m., according to witnesses. Videos circulating on social media and messaging platforms showed barricades of burning tires along the route.
In a statement carried by Lebanese media, Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussaoui said the situation had placed "the government face to face with its responsibilities." He added that "Lebanese citizens, optimistic about the reactivation of constitutional institutions" following the election of Joseph Aoun as president, "are calling for measures to ensure Lebanon's sovereignty over all its public facilities, foremost among them the airport."
The incident follows allegations by the Israeli military that Iran has used Beirut airport to funnel resources to Hezbollah. The situation comes amid heightened tensions, as many individuals are expected in Lebanon for the funerals of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his designated successor, Hashem Safieddine. Both men were killed in Israeli strikes on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, 2024, respectively, during the ongoing war between Hezbollah and Israel. On Tuesday, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported that Beirut airport's security had implemented strict measures for flights from Iraq, including comprehensive searches.
On Jan. 3, an Iranian commercial aircraft underwent security checks at Beirut airport after reports suggested it was carrying money for Hezbollah, sparking outrage in diplomatic circles. Following the incident, the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry received a message from the Iranian Embassy in Beirut regarding the contents of two "small diplomatic suitcases" carried by an Iranian diplomat aboard the plane. According to the embassy, the suitcases contained "documents and tickets for covering operational expenses exclusively for embassy use."