Middle East Airlines Moves Most of its Planes from Lebanon

FILE PHOTO: Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) planes are pictured at the tarmac of Beirut international airport, Lebanon February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
FILE PHOTO: Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) planes are pictured at the tarmac of Beirut international airport, Lebanon February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Middle East Airlines Moves Most of its Planes from Lebanon

FILE PHOTO: Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) planes are pictured at the tarmac of Beirut international airport, Lebanon February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
FILE PHOTO: Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) planes are pictured at the tarmac of Beirut international airport, Lebanon February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) decided to move a number of its airplanes to neighboring countries as a precaution in case of conflict, thus reducing the number of its daily flights from and to Beirut.

The decision came after changes to the company’s insurance coverage policy following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

MEA said it was informed by the insurance companies about a decision to reduce their war risk coverage.

Mohammed Al-Hout, chairman of MEA, said only eight of the company’s 22 planes would operate as of next week, with the rest relocated to other airports.

Only one-third of the company’s flights scheduled before the crisis will remain operational.

MEA plans to move ten of its airplanes to neighboring countries including Cyprus, Oman, and Doha. Seven airplanes will continue flights as normal at Beirut Airport.

Al-Hout said insurance companies began to worry about the risk of war when the Israel-Hamas “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” started, and an assessment was carried out in cooperation with them.

According to the Chairman of MEA, insurance coverage for war risks has been reduced by approximately 80 percent. “However, our priority is to secure communication between Lebanon and the rest of the world,” he said.

“We don’t have security information about a possible attack on the airport in Lebanon but references and all the information we got indicated that the operations will remain within the rules of engagement and under control in southern Lebanon,” Al-Hout affirmed.

Similar concerns arose during the 2006 July War when Israeli airstrikes targeted Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport.

“In 2006, the airport was bombed and there were six planes stuck in Lebanon. Through contacts, the Israelis gave us a margin of time to evacuate the planes. However, today the situation is different and it's about insurance companies,” he said.

MEA’s decision came while several countries advised their nationals to leave Lebanon amid rising regional tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war.

On Friday, Oman's embassy in Beirut urged Omani citizens to leave Lebanon immediately “due to the events taking place in the region” in a post from the embassy on social media platform X.

Belgium and Ukraine issued similar travel warnings.

Pierre Achkar, President of the Federation of Tourism Syndicates and the Syndicate of Hotel Owners, revealed significant losses that the Lebanese tourism sector is expected to incur due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the developments in southern Lebanon.

He anticipated that tourism establishments would lose the profits they had earned during the summer season.

Moreover, he disclosed that “European groups planning to visit Lebanon during October and November have canceled their reservations following their countries' travel warnings about going to Lebanon.”



Report: Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Requests Asylum in Russia

Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)
Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)
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Report: Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Requests Asylum in Russia

Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)
Syrian ambassador to the UN and head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari gestures as he holds a press conference during the Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 31, 2016. (AFP)

Syria's ambassador to Moscow has requested asylum in Russia, state news agency TASS reported on Monday, citing a source.

The Russian news outlet provided no further details on the reported request by Bashar Jaafari, who was appointed ambassador to Russia in 2022 after 15 years as Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Reuters was not able to immediately contact Jaafari, 69. Syria's embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin granted asylum to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad when he fled to Moscow with his family after being toppled by a lightning opposition offensive at the end of last year.

Syria's foreign ministry last week recalled Jaafari to Damascus, state media reported, saying the move was part of a reorganization of the diplomatic corps after Assad's fall.

Jaafari had been one of the most well-known international representatives of the former regime. He had been vocal in his defense of the Syrian government during the country's 14-year civil war, including his denial it had carried out chemical weapons attacks.

Moscow has supported Damascus since the early days of the Cold War, recognizing its independence in 1944 as Syria sought to throw off French colonial rule.

Syria is also home to two important Russian military bases - the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous on the coast. Russia is seeking to retain control of these as it builds ties with the country's new leadership.