Air France and the German airline group Lufthansa announced on Monday that they were suspending flights to Beirut. This decision follows Israel’s threat of reprisal for a deadly rocket strike launched from Lebanon. Lufthansa services will be halted until August 5 due to “current developments in the Middle East”, a group spokesman informed AFP. Air France and its low-cost subsidiary Transavia France also stated that flights between French airports and Beirut would be suspended on Monday and Tuesday, citing the “security situation” in Lebanon.
Israel declared its intention to retaliate after rocket fire from neighboring Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel blamed Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement for the attack, but Hezbollah denied any connection to the strike. The incident raised concerns that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could escalate northwards to Lebanon.
Beirut’s sole airport was bustling with travelers on Monday, including families anxiously awaiting delayed flights in the oppressive heat, according to an AFP photographer. Syrian-German traveler Nisreen al-Hussein discovered upon arriving at Beirut airport that her flight to Dusseldorf had been cancelled. “I’m trying to look for another flight but they’re all either packed or cancelled,” said Hussein, who was traveling with children.
Many Syrians have been utilizing flights from Beirut since the outbreak of civil war in their country in 2011. Ahmad Arafat, from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, told AFP he had been waiting with his family for a delayed Paris flight for two hours. “I don’t know what I’ll do if the flight is cancelled,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult waiting long hours in the heat, with young children and little available seating.”
Other airlines have also adjusted their flight schedules in response to the attack. A Greek airport source informed AFP that an Aegean flight to Beirut had been cancelled on Sunday night. Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines stated in a press release that they had rescheduled several flights on Sunday and Monday, citing “technical reasons related to the distribution of (aircraft) insurance risks”.
The Lufthansa group, which includes SWISS and Austrian Airlines, has repeatedly suspended travel to the region since the Gaza conflict began in early October. Israeli forces and Hezbollah have exchanged cross-border fire following the October 7 attack on Israel by the Lebanese group’s Palestinian ally Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza. The cross-border violence has claimed the lives of at least 529 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP count, with the majority being fighters but also including 104 civilians. On the Israeli side, 24 civilians and 22 soldiers have been killed, as reported by the military.
