Airlines cancel flights to Lebanon as Middle East tensions escalate

Several airlines have suspended services to Lebanon’s main international airport as tensions escalate between Israel and the Hezbollah militia group.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, along with its units Swiss International and Eurowings, said it will halt flights to and from Beirut until Aug. 6, while Greece’s Aegean Airlines has canceled some flights and is assessing the situation on a daily basis. Qatar Airways will adjust its schedule to ensure all flights to Beirut operate during daytime, according to a spokesperson.

Lebanese flag carrier Middle East Airlines rescheduled some flights on Sunday and Monday as it looked to distribute insurance risks for aircraft inside and outside the country, the company said in a statement posted on X. Air France halted flights to Beirut on July 29 and 30, and said it was monitoring the situation in real-time.

The actions follow a rocket strike on the Golan Heights on Sunday, which killed 12 youngsters at a football field and risked triggering the all-out conflict between Israel with Hezbollah that’s been feared for months. Israel says it has evidence the rocket that hit the town of Majdal Shams was fired by Hezbollah, something the group denies.

MEA has parked a number of aircraft outside the country in Jordan, Turkey and Cyprus since October as insurers fretted over the possibility of a wider war in the region. As a result of the displacements, the carrier has been recalibrating routes to accommodate lower demand and the smaller operating fleet.