Lebanese Aviation Affected as Middle East Tensions Rise

The current situation in the Middle East has understandably had a major effect on the aviation industry. Lebanon is the latest country to be affected, as escalating tensions have led to various preventative actions being taken by local and international entities.

MEA Evacuates Aircraft

Middle East Airlines (MEA), the flag carrier of Lebanon, has ferried aircraft to Istanbul, Türkiye (IST). This evacuation comes amid anticipation of a possible Israeli military strike on Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY), the carrier's main hub.

As of now, the following MEA aircraft have been repositioned from Beirut to Istanbul:

• T7-ME3 (A321neo)
• T7-ME4 (A321neo)
• T7-ME5 (A321neo)
• OD-MEB (A330-200)

MEA has seen aircraft be damaged on previous occasions. As such, to avoid losing these valuable assets if Beirut's airport were targeted, MEA is taking preventative action and evacuating planes while it still can. Despite these four planes being taken out of revenue service, MEA has no significant disruptions to its schedule. 

A very small number of MEA flights departing Beirut have been canceled. On October 18th, these included one MEA flight to Amman, Jordan, and one to Cairo, Egypt. So far, one MEA flight to Baghdad, Iraq, has been canceled on the 19th.

During the 2006 Lebanon War, all three runways of Beirut Airport were damaged by Israeli airstrikes directed at Hezbollah. After this, MEA used some of the airport's long taxiways to evacuate four Airbus A321s and an A330.

Airlines Suspend Beirut Operations

Conflict on Lebanon's southern border has continued to raise apprehension about escalating violence. As such, international airlines operating in the country have announced flight suspensions.

Lufthansa, SWISS International Air Lines, and Eurowings have suspended operations in Beirut. As of October 18th, other airlines such as Saudia, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, and Condor canceled flights to Beirut that specific day. No further details have emerged if these airlines will suspend service.

Lufthansa has announced that its flights to Beirut will stay suspended until October 22nd, while SWISS will keep operations halted until the 28th. More airlines are expected to suspend operations in Beirut as more governments push to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon or discourage travel there altogether.

Neighboring Syria saw its major international airports, Damascus and Aleppo, heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes. Fearing something similar might occur at Lebanon's main airport, and foreign governments are calling for their citizens to evacuate Lebanon as soon as possible.

When writing this article, most international airlines continue to operate regular flights into Beirut. These include Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Pegasus, TAROM, Air France, and Egyptair.

But with the uncertain situation, any of these airlines can decide to suspend Beirut service effective immediately. Canada has told its citizens to leave Lebanon "while commercial flights are still available."

France has also raised concerns about the safety situation in Lebanon. Its foreign ministry said, "Given security tensions in the region and particularly on Lebanon's southern border, French travelers planning a trip to Lebanon are not advised to go there."

Other nations such as Australia, the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom have also advised against non-essential travel to Lebanon. Britain released new travel advice for Lebanon earlier this week, noting that the situation "has the potential to deteriorate quickly and with no warning."