A Middle East Airlines (MEA) plane taking off from Beirut airport on October 19, 2024. (Credit: AFP.)
BEIRUT — In response to the wave of flight suspensions and cancellations triggered by the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over the past four days, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport announced Monday that it is arranging charter flights to help bring home Lebanese nationals stranded abroad, particularly in Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey.
In a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA), the ministry indicated that four special flights chartered from Sharm al-Sheikh started landing at Beirut International Airport (BIA) from 9 a.m. These flights will continue until 10:30 p.m., allowing for the repatriation of around 650 Lebanese passengers.
"This operation was carried out in coordination with the travel agency Travel Book & Tripleseven Aviation, which covered transport costs and provided the necessary aircraft, thus contributing to the smooth and rapid evacuation," the ministry specifies.
Since Friday, many airlines have suspended their flights to Beirut, and the Lebanese airspace has been temporarily closed for two consecutive nights, as have those of other countries in the region, due to the exchange of missiles and the passage of drones and planes between the two non-bordering powers.
Regarding Lebanese stranded in Turkey, particularly in Antalya and Adana, the company Nakhal Tours chartered a flight via Middle East Airlines (MEA), scheduled to take off at 5 p.m., to repatriate passengers to Beirut.
Direct flights between Beirut and Basra
The ministry also recalled that Iraqi airspace remains virtually closed, except for the airport in Basra, the only open aerial passage point. In a statement released later in the day, it announced that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had reached an agreement to establish direct flights between Beirut and Basra. Two emergency flights will be provided to transport Iraqis present in Lebanon, in exchange for the evacuation of Lebanese stranded in Iraq via the Iraqi airline Iraqi Airways.
The ministry's statement emphasizes that "Iraqi Airways has committed to ensure daily regular flights between Beirut and Basra until the airspace reopens and normal air traffic resumes between the two countries."
The ministry thus invites Lebanese wishing to return from Iraq to Beirut to book their tickets with Iraqi Airways starting today.