A Middle East Airlines plane at Beirut's international airport. (Credit: Layal Dagher/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Several airlines announced Friday they canceled their scheduled flights to or from Rafic Hariri International Airport (RHIA), hours after unprecedented Israeli strikes against Iran that targeted uranium enrichment sites and killed senior military officials.
While Iraq and Jordan announced they closed their airspace in the aftermath, the situation remained "normal" at RHIA, according to Amin Jaber, the director of Civil Aviation. However, he noted to L'Orient-Le Jour that Beirut's service had been disrupted.
How many flights were canceled on Friday, and what about the days to come? L’Orient-Le Jour has the updates.
"Some airlines were forced to cancel their flights due to the closure of Iraqi and Jordanian airspace," explained Jaber. Civil aviation is closely monitoring the situation, he continued, noting that the airport remains "functional" since this morning.
So far, 12 airlines, including seven European ones, have changed their schedules. A source within Middle East Airlines (MEA), who requested anonymity for professional reasons, told L’Orient-Le Jour that the national carrier only canceled its flights to Iraq and Jordan on Friday.
Regarding upcoming flights, the source stated that "everything depends on developments in the region." "We are closely monitoring the situation and will adjust accordingly."
15 arrivals canceled
According to RHIA's website, 15 flights to Beirut have been canceled so far. These services were scheduled by the Turkish-German Sun Express from Antalya and Izmir, Fly Dubai from Dubai, Emirates from Dubai (two flights), MEA from Baghdad, Amman and Najaf, Egypt Air from Cairo, Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines (UM Air) from Sharm El Sheikh, Iraqi Airways from Baghdad, Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Sun Air from Berlin.
Flights by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) from Copenhagen and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, scheduled for the evening, were also canceled.
About 20 departures canceled
Departing from Beirut, about 20 cancellations were reported at the time of the article's publication. These include those by MEA to Amman (two flights), Baghdad (two flights), and Najaf (one flight), Sun Express to Antalya and Izmir, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Egypt Air to Cairo, Emirates to Dubai (two flights), the German company Condor to Dusseldorf, UM Air to Sharm El Sheikh, Iraqi Airways to Baghdad (two flights), Lufthansa to Frankfurt, the German SundAir to Berlin, SAS to Copenhagen, Turkish Airlines to Istanbul and a flight by the Italian military to Pisa.
In the afternoon, Lufthansa declared it had "temporarily suspended" its flights to Beirut until July 31. The regional carrier Qatar Airways, which "temporarily canceled its flights to Iran and Iraq due to the current situation in the region," has so far maintained its routes to Beirut.
The regional airspace has been widely disrupted following Israeli bombings against Iran and Tehran's retaliation. According to the Israeli military, about 200 fighter jets were mobilized targeting hundreds of sites, including nuclear facilities and Iranian military sites. In retaliation, the Islamic Republic launched 100 drones toward Israel, which the Israeli military attempted to intercept.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
