Flights at Beirut Airport have been disrupted, with cancellations and delays affecting several airlines. The disruptions stem from heightened tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, following a deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 teenagers and children. This attack has raised concerns of a full-scale war between the two sides.
Israel’s security cabinet has authorized a response to the strike, and Hezbollah has denied any involvement. The incident marks the deadliest attack in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since the Hamas assault on Gaza sparked the current war.
Several airlines have announced cancellations or delays to flights to and from Beirut. Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings have cancelled three flights scheduled for Monday afternoon, while Turkish Airlines cancelled two flights overnight. Other airlines including SunExpress, AJet, Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air, and Middle East Airlines (MEA) have also cancelled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday.
MEA has also announced delays to flights departing Beirut due to “technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations.” The airline had previously delayed the departure of some flights set to land in Beirut overnight.
The conflict has disrupted air travel and shipping across the region. Lufthansa has already suspended night-time flights to and from Beirut for July due to “current developments” in the Middle East. Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon’s only airport and has been targeted in the past during the country’s civil war and previous conflicts with Israel, including the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
