The outbreak of war between Iran and Israel has turned the hopes of Lebanese for a promising tourism season after thousands of tourists decided to cut short their vacation and return home.
A large number of Arab and foreign tourists were seen at the departure gate at Rafik Hariri International Airport. They fear security developments would lead to a sudden halt of flights, especially after the United States joined the conflict and launched directed strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities last Saturday.
“After most airlines suspended their flights to Lebanon, thousands of passengers rebooked with the Middle East Airlines to be able to leave Lebanon,” a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday.
The source said tourists are cutting short their stay as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
While officials expected that 120 flights would land daily at the airport in Beirut during the summer season, a source at the airport said, “most airlines have cancelled flights to Beirut due to high security concerns”.
In addition to Lebanese flag carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), the source said only five other companies are still operating from Beirut’s airport: Emirates, Fly Dubai, Turkish Airlines, Cyprus Airways and Qatar Airways.
The mass cancellation of flights has mainly affected the tourist season in Lebanon, such as hotels, restaurants and other establishments.
“The tourist season in Lebanon is affected. Thousands of hotel reservations were cancelled as Arab and Gulf nationals hesitate to visit the country due to the ongoing war,” Chairman of the Lebanese Economic Organizations and former Minister Mohammed Choucair told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Choucair said “the promising summer season is much more pessimistic. Things could only change if the war stops in a few days.”
He said most airlines that had planned additional flights to Beirut for the upcoming season have now totally suspended their flights.
Also, the war affected tourism companies, which saw a lower demand on tickets and hotel reservations.
Aimee Achkar, general manager at Tania Travel said the war “has dealt a strong blow to the tourist season in Lebanon. Thousands of reservations were cancelled while Arab and foreign tourists are cutting their holiday short.”
Achkar told Asharq Al-Awsat that in the first quarter of June, incoming flights to Beirut airport dropped from 85 flights a day to between 30 and 35 flights, mostly operated by MEA.
In the tourism sector, hotels have suffered the most.
“The occupancy rate in hotels before June 13 ranged between 80 and 90%. After the outbreak of war, it fell to below 30%,” Achkar said.
She explained that according to pre-bookings, the airport was projected to welcome about 125 flights per day during July and August, while the hotel occupancy rate was about 95%.
Also, President of Lebanese Hotel Association, Pierre Achkar said last week the war between Iran and Israel is already casting a shadow over Lebanon’s tourism sector.
In a statement, Achkar said the closure of regional airspace and the cancellation of incoming flights have begun to take a toll, adding that the aviation sector is facing growing disruption and chaos.
But in return, Lebanese expatriates have not cancelled their tickets back home. They are still holding out hope for an improvement in the situation in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has been reached.
A MEA official said flights to Lebanon are fully booked by Lebanese expatriates.
“All flights approved by MEA and foreign airlines are still on their previously scheduled dates,” he said.
