Three flights diverted overnight at Beirut airport due to severe storm

Three planes preparing to land at Beirut airport were diverted overnight Friday to Saturday to Larnaca and Ankara airports due to a severe storm and low visibility, while other flights delayed their landings until the weather cleared. Once the storm passed, the three planes, two from Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) and one from Turkish airline AJet, resumed their flights and landed safely in Beirut. Departures were not affected, as no takeoffs were scheduled during the peak of the storm.

“When a severe storm occurs, it is up to the pilot to assess the landing conditions. The pilots of three flights — two MEA and one AJet — decided not to land after midnight Friday, judging the landing too risky due to extreme turbulence and highly electrified clouds,” Lebanon’s civil aviation director Amine Jaber told L’Orient-Le Jour. “Civil aviation then directed them to safer destinations, with the two MEA flights diverted to Larnaca in Cyprus and the AJet flight to Ankara,” he added, confirming that all three aircraft later landed safely at Beirut. Departures were not affected because no takeoffs were scheduled at the time of the storm.

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According to an MEA source, the national carrier flights were coming from Paris and Riyadh. They waited for about an hour in Cyprus before taking off again for Beirut.

Wissam Abou Khachfeh, head of Beirut airport’s meteorology service, told Voice of Lebanon radio that the airport had been forced in the early hours to divert certain flights due to violent storms and low visibility. “Clouds carrying heavy rainfall and strong electrical discharges can sometimes pose a danger to aircraft, requiring a change of destination,” he explained.

Looking ahead, he said weather conditions improved on Saturday. The heavy night rains in Lebanon were caused by a depression coming from southwestern Turkey, accompanied by relatively cold air masses. Precipitation across Lebanon ranged from 40 to 60 mm, well below seasonal averages. The depression is expected to gradually weaken from Sunday, with temperatures rising at the start of next week.

Trois vols détournés dans la nuit à l'AIB à cause d'un violent orage