Flights flying to Beirut from Iraq are coming under heavy security measures and thorough inspections at the Lebanese capital’s Rafik Hariri International Airport in search of any funds or assets that may be transferred to Hezbollah.
Director of the airport Fadi al-Hassan told Asharq Al-Awsat that the inspections of all civilian flights are routine, whether they are flying in from Iraq or Iran. The same measures are adopted for all flights from all over the world.
A security source at the airport said, however, “extraordinary measures are being adopted for the Baghdad flights, similar to those adopted for the ones coming from Iran.”
It told Asharq Al-Awsat that the inspections cover all passengers, luggage and packages onboard these flights.
“The inspections are not aimed at bothering the passengers, but they have been imposed by the conditions created by the Israeli war on Lebanon. Lebanon is committed to the security standards that the state agreed to with the Americans so that Beirut airport would not become a target for Israel and lead to its closure,” it explained.
“The measures adopted by the security agencies at the airport are in line with a political decision taken by the former government and they ensure that the facility will continue to operate normally,” it stressed.
Airlines from all over the world stopped operating flights to and from Beirut airport during the war due to security concerns. Only Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines, as well as airlines from Iraq and Iran, kept operating flights normally.
Israel had, however, directly threatened Iraqi and Iranian flights, warning them against landing in Beirut, because they may be carrying weapons and funds Iran to Hezbollah.
The threat put a stop to the flights from Iraq and Iran, but they resumed after the ceasefire went into effect on November 27.
Lebanese and Iraqi airlines have been operating three to five flights daily to and from Beirut and Baghdad since the ceasefire.
The security source said airport security is intensifying its inspections of flights from Iraq, similar to the measures taken to inspect flights from Iran. Reports have said that the Iranians, after coming under intense inspections at the airport, have resorted to sending funds to Hezbollah through Iraq.
The source confirmed that Beirut airport is under intense international scrutiny, especially by the Americans.
An Iraqi flight from Baghdad to Beirut was cancelled on Monday, with sources speculating it may have been in objection to the heavy security measures or due to logistic reasons.
Security and military affairs expert Khaled Hamadeh said the security measures at Beirut airport are normal and adopted at airports all over the world.
The Lebanese state is obligated to take measures that would combat money-laundering, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Beirut airport is under international scrutiny, especially by the Americans, and allowing funds from Iraq or Iran to pass through will put Lebanon in danger, he warned.
The intense security measures have already caused tensions.
Last year and before the ceasefire went into effect, passengers on an Iranian plane carrying Ali Larijani, advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, refused to be searched at Beirut airport. A similar dispute erupted because another Iranian flight also refused the inspection.
Hamadeh said that such uproar is unnecessary because the airport security is only doing its job.
Any Iraqi or Iranian flying in from any part of the world will be searched once they arrive at the airport, he explained. They will be suspected of carrying Iranian funds to Hezbollah.
Such inspections are at the heart of the security agency’s duties at the airport. It is their job to protect the facility and provide the necessary conditions for it to continue to operate normally and securely, he stated.
