Airlines are reluctant to take a chance when it comes to flying in or out Lebanon. Some flights at Beirut airport have been cancelled or delayed, with Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) saying disruptions to its schedule were related to insurance risks. All that is required is possibly one more spark for Lebanon’s skyline to be lit up, as tensions escalate between Israel and Hezbollah.
A rocket strike that killed 12 teenagers and children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday has added to concerns that Israel and the Iran-backed group could engage in a full-scale war.
Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday authorised the government to respond to the strike. Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza, which has since spread to several fronts.
Lufthansa LHAG.DE and Lufthansa’s Eurowings have cancelled three flights to Beirut scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Turkish Airlines THYAO.IS also cancelled two flights overnight on Sunday and Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA have also cancelled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday, Flightradar24 showed.
Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon’s only airport. It has been targeted in the country’s civil war, and previous fighting with Israel, including in the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have increased cross-border exchanges of fire since the Gaza war began. The conflict has disrupted flights and shipping across the region, including during reciprocal drone and missile attacks between Israel and Iran in April.
The exchanges have not crossed the tipping point for another all-out war in the region, as yet. Hezbollah is supposedly well armed and trained, however, another school of thought calls it an over-graded entity.
Team BharatShakti
(With Inputs from Reuters)
