Flights at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport have been canceled or delayed as Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) cites insurance risks due to escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. MEA announced that disruptions to its schedule were necessary for “technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations.”
On Monday, Lufthansa suspended five routes to and from Beirut through its carriers Swiss International Air Lines, Eurowings, and Lufthansa itself, citing “an abundance of caution.” This decision follows a rocket strike on Saturday that killed 12 youths in the Golan Heights, heightening fears of a full-scale war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The strike, which Hezbollah has denied responsibility for, prompted Israel’s security cabinet to authorize a governmental response. This incident is the deadliest in Israeli territory since the October 7 assault by Hamas, which ignited the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed further cancellations, including two overnight flights by Turkish Airlines on Sunday. Other airlines, such as SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air, and MEA, also canceled flights scheduled for Monday.
Beirut airport has faced disruptions due to regional conflicts in the past, including during the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The recent increase in cross-border exchanges of fire since the Gaza war began has further strained flight operations. Earlier in July, Lufthansa had already suspended night-time flights to and from Beirut due to the volatile situation in the Middle East.