A Middle East Airlines MEA plane. (Credit: AFP)
The claim:
Information circulated online on Wednesday about a test flight by the Lebanese national airline Middle East Airlines (MEA), between Beirut airport (BIA) and the Qleyaat airport in the Akkar region of northern Lebanon, reportedly scheduled for Thursday, May 22.
Who is behind the claim?
Internet users created controversy after spotting an MEA flight on the Flight Radar website, which lists scheduled flights, scheduled for Thursday at 4 a.m., bound for the Rene Moawad airbase in Qleyaat.
Key context/the actual facts:
Contacted by L'Orient Today, a source at MEA denied this claim. The flight in question is also not mentioned on Beirut airport's website.
The opening of a second civil airport in Lebanon, in Qleyaat, has been a topic raised several times recently, mainly brought up by parties opposed to the Amal-Hezbollah alliance. Beirut airport, the country's only civil airport, is located in the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Hezbollah stronghold. The 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel made access to the airport difficult and threatened the security of the site, as the airport was threatened with being targeted by Israel. Only MEA maintained its flights to Beirut when strikes intensified in late 2024. The opening of Qleyaat was mentioned in the ministerial statement of the government of Nawaf Salam.
Early in May, the prime minister announced that "work is underway to develop the master plan for President Martyr Rene Moawad airport in Qleyaat, and several foreign companies are showing keen interest in investing there."
Set up by the French army in 1938, the Qleyaat airport was placed under the control of the Lebanese army in 1966, which modernized it into a military base. It was renamed Rene Moawad Airport in 1989, in tribute to the president elected and assassinated there. In 2006, it was bombed by the Israeli army, which systematically targeted Lebanese air bases. Repaired, the basewas once again under the control of the Lebanese air force. Since 2010, discussions have been underway to transform what is now the Rene Moawad airbase into a civilian commercial airport, but the project has never been realized.
In summary: True, false or misleading?
We have concluded that this information is false.
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