Beirut flights nixed or delayed as Lebanon girds for Israeli reprisal for Golan strike
Germany, Norway warn citizens to leave Lebanon; US, Denmark reiterate that travel to Lebanon is not advised, recommend leaving before situation deteriorates further
Flights at Beirut airport have been canceled or delayed, with Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) saying disruptions to its schedule were related to insurance risks, as tensions escalate between Israel and Hezbollah after the terror group’s deadly rocket attack in Majdal Shams on Saturday.
Lufthansa on Monday said it had suspended five routes to and from Beirut by the group’s carriers Swiss International Air Lines, Eurowings and Lufthansa up to and including August 5 “in an abundance of caution.”
A spokesman for the airline told AFP that the flights were being canceled as a result of “current developments in the Middle East.”
Joining the German carrier, Air France said that due to the security situation, it was suspending flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut for the days of July 29 and 30.
“Air France is monitoring the situation in Lebanon in real time,” the airline said.
The rocket strike that killed 12 children and teens on a soccer field in the Golan Heights on Saturday has added to concerns that Israel and the Iran-backed terror group could engage in a full-scale war. Hezbollah has denied firing the rocket, but Israel has dismissed the denial, noting the group had said it fired at the area and presenting evidence that the munition used was Iran-made and exclusively used by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday authorized the government to respond to the strike, the deadliest in Israel since Hamas’s October 7 terror assault in southern Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Beirut airport’s flight information board and flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed Turkish Airlines also canceled two flights overnight on Sunday.
Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA have also canceled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday, Flightradar24 showed.
The airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon’s only airport. It has been targeted in the country’s civil war and in previous fighting with Israel, including in the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
In June, whistleblowers alleged that the terror group was using the airport to store a variety of weapons, including ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets and laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles.
On Sunday, MEA said it had delayed the departure of some flights set to land in Beirut overnight. Additional delays to flights landing on Monday were subsequently announced due to “technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations,” MEA said.
Lufthansa had already suspended nighttime flights to and from Beirut for July due to “current developments” in the Middle East.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
As of Saturday, the skirmishes have resulted in 24 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 18 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 381 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 68 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
Following the lead of several other countries, Germany updated its travel warning to Lebanon on Monday, cautioning that air travel could be cut off.
German citizens are “urgently requested to leave Lebanon,” the German Foreign Office wrote. “A further escalation of the situation and expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out.”
“This applies in particular to the southern parts of Lebanon, including the southern urban areas of Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley, including the Baalbek-Hermel district,” it added. “A further escalation could also lead to a complete suspension of air traffic from Rafiq Hariri Airport. Leaving Lebanon by air would then no longer be possible.”
The Norwegian embassy in Lebanon also urged its citizens to leave the country, reiterating existing travel warnings.
“The conflict between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel has escalated,” said the embassy in an Arabic-language social media post. “Norwegian authorities remind you of travel guidelines that encourage all Norwegian citizens to leave the country. In case the situation worsens, travel options outside Lebanon may become limited. In such a situation, the Norwegian Embassy will have very limited resources to assist Norwegian citizens in leaving the country.”
Since October 7, Norway’s Foreign Ministry has advised against “travel that is not strictly necessary to all of Israel,” but issued no new warnings in the wake of recent escalations in the north.
Citing the canceled or reduced flight schedules, the US embassy in Beirut issued a security alert on Sunday, without changing instructions but advising US citizens traveling to or from Lebanon to “be aware that itineraries could change with little or no warning, and to make alternate plans.”
The US has had a Level 3 travel advisory in place for all of Lebanon since January, instructing citizens to “be aware of the risks of remaining in the country and review their personal security plans.” In particular, it strongly advises against travel to southern Lebanon and the Syrian border.
The Danish embassy likewise issued a security advisory on Sunday, informing its citizens that it had tightened the current travel advice for Lebanon, advising against all travel to Lebanon and urging its citizens to leave, as the security situation could “deteriorate further without warning.”
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
