14 airlines have or will
resume flights to Beirut

Many European carriers still awaiting ceasefire consolidation

A number of foreign airlines have resumed flights to the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport while others plan to return ahead of or during the holiday season.

The carriers that have started operating flights to Beirut include Royal Jordanian, Iraqi Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Iran’s Mahan Air. Those that are slated to resume flights soon include Ethiopian Airlines, Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways, Qatar Airways, Romania’s TAROM, Germany’s SundAir, and Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines, in addition to UAE-based carriers Etihad Airways, Emirates, Flydubai, and Air Arabia.

Jean Abboud, Chairman of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents (ATTAL), said that seven to eight major airlines would definitely resume flights before the end of 2024 as most European carriers are cautions and are waiting for the final consolidation of the 60-day ceasefire. He said that there are also logistical reasons for postponing the resumption of flights as many airlines have operated on other alternatives routes after canceling flights to Beirut during the war and they have to abide by their commitments on these routes especially that the holiday season is short and will be followed by a dead season.

Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh said that foreign airlines have started applying to resume flights to and from Beirut and that they have begun granting them approvals since November 27 [when the ceasefire came into effect]. He said that by mid-December most flights of Arab and foreign airlines will be normalized ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

According to Abboud, the overwhelming majority of airlines will resume operations in early 2025, if the security situation remains stable.

Middle East Airlines - Air Liban (MEA), which currently dominates passenger traffic at the airport, didn’t stop operations even when areas very close to the airport were bombarded. For this reason, it was described by some media as “the most badass (daring) airline on the planet".

Abboud said daily arrivals increased to 4,000-4,500 passengers in December, up 75 percent compared with the previous month but they plunge by 70 percent when compared to 13,000-14,000 passengers in December 2023. He said that tourism receipts are expected to drop to $2 billion or $3 billion at most this year as many Lebanese expatriates will come this time to check on their relatives and their damaged homes not for entertainment and spending. Tourism receipts reached $6.5 billion in 2023 and $9.5 billion 14 years ago.