Israeli strike on Haret Hreik: No cancellations of reservations or flights to Beirut for now

The deadly strike carried out Sunday by Israel in Beirut's southern suburb to assassinate Hezbollah Chief of Staff Haytham Ali Tabataba'i has so far not sparked panic among members of the Lebanese diaspora planning to return to Lebanon, according to several professionals contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, including the president of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon (ATTAL), Jean Abboud.

The director of Civil Aviation, Amin Jaber, told us that "no airline has canceled its flights to Beirut and that demand is increasing."

"There is no panic and even little reaction from travelers who have already made their reservations," he said, noting that this trend should continue in the coming days if no further security incidents occur.

He added that the current flight offerings have not yet met demand, but that demand is increasing as the end-of-year holidays approach — a period when many Lebanese usually return to Lebanon to see their families.

He also noted that reservation levels have not spiked for the pope's visit to Lebanon — he will also travel to Turkey for his first apostolic visit — mainly because the date of his visit is so close to the holidays.

"Lebanese of the Christian faith, who are most likely to make the trip, are not going to travel twice in one month and will more likely choose to stay with family, especially as the pope's visit is quite brief," added the president of ATTAL.

Raymond Wehbe, CEO of the We Reach the World travel agency, made a similar observation. "From what I have heard, there have been no cancellations. The prevailing feeling among travelers is that there is little chance of a widespread escalation, at least until Pope Leo XIV’s visit, which will take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. Travelers say the head of the Catholic Church, who is American, made the decision to visit Lebanon, taking into account the security risks," he explained.

"No change" either according to Christelle Nakhal Majdalani, sales director at Nakhal agency. "Expatriates know the rules of these clashes [between Hezbollah and Israel], and I don’t think this strike will push many of them to change their minds. If things escalate, it’ll be a different story," she said.

A year ago, many Lebanese did not wait to see if the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah — which had just come into force — would hold before rushing to book their flights to Beirut for the holidays, even as foreign airlines had suspended all flights between September and December 2024 due to the intensification of fighting between the two sides.

A little over 1.13 million people visited Lebanon in 2024, according to official figures, a drop of 32.1 percent compared to 2023 and 22.8 percent compared to 2022. After the start of the Israeli offensive, arrivals fell by 86.4 percent in September, 64.4 percent in October, and 26.4 percent in November and December 2024, respectively.