A plane on the tarmac at Beirut International Airport (BIA). (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient Today.)
BEIRUT —The war between Iran and Israel, which continued on Sunday for the third consecutive day, is still disrupting flights to and from Beirut. The director of civil aviation, Amine Jaber, explained in a statement that most airlines are now operating based on a "demand" system.
Many airlines are currently working under a request-based flight system to Beirut International Airport (AIB), instead of the usual fixed schedule, according to Jaber.
Depending on the evolving situation, "Qatar Airways plans two to three daily flights to Beirut, while Emirates has canceled its flights, and Etihad continues its operations as usual," Mr. Jaber specified. Kuwait Airways and Al Arabiya Airlines are also maintaining their flights, he added. "The normalization of air traffic to and from the airport remains linked to the situation in the country and the region," he continued.
Emirates Airlines announced on its website that it is continuing the suspension of its flights to Amman and Beirut until June 22. Flights to Iran and Iraq are suspended until June 30. “Customers transferring in Dubai to final destinations in Iraq, Iran, Jordan, or Lebanon, as well as travelers with connections on flydubai to these suspended destinations, will not be accepted for departure from their point of origin until further notice,” the airline specifies.
The Lebanese national airline, Middle East Airlines, announced the organization of an additional flight ME1263/1264 to and from Istanbul on Sunday, according to the following schedule: Flight ME1263, departing Istanbul at 17:00, heading to Beirut; Flight ME1264, departing Beirut at 19:55, heading to Istanbul. The airline specified that booking priority for these flights will be given to passengers whose previous flights had been canceled in recent days.
On Friday afternoon, the German airline Lufthansa had stated that it had “temporarily suspended” its flights to Beirut until July 31.
