Flights to and from Beirut airport were cancelled or delayed on Monday as tensions escalated between Israel and armed political group Hezbollah after an attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers.
Air France said on Monday that it would suspend flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut for the days of July 29 and 30, 2024, due to the security situation at the destination.
“Air France is monitoring the situation in Lebanon in real time,” the airline said.
Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings have decided to suspend their flights from Beirut until August 5 due to the current developments in the Middle East, a Lufthansa Group spokesperson said.
Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) said the disruption to its schedule was related to insurance risks.
The rocket attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday has raised concerns that Israel and Iran-backed groups could be embroiled in a full-scale war.
On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet authorized the government to respond to the attack. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack. This attack is the deadliest attack in Israel or the territory occupied by Israel. The war started after Hamas attacked Gaza on October 7. This attack has spread on many fronts.
Beirut airport’s flight information board and flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that Turkish Airlines also cancelled two flights on Sunday night.
Turkey-based budget airline SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary Ajet, Greek airline Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA also cancelled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday, according to Flightradar24.
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 previous fighting with Israel, including the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said it had delayed the departure of some flights scheduled to land in Beirut overnight. Additional delays to flights scheduled to land on Monday were announced due to “technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Cross-border firing between Hezbollah and Israeli forces has increased since the Gaza war began. The conflict has disrupted flights and shipping across the region, including reciprocal drone and missile attacks between Israel and Iran in April.
Lufthansa has already suspended night flights to and from Beirut for the month of July due to “current developments” in the Middle East.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)