Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport began recovering on Tuesday from the fallout of the Iran war, as international airlines resumed flights to the Lebanese capital after a roughly 40-day suspension caused by ongoing war, amid US pressure on Israel to spare the airport.
The airport schedule showed the arrival of a Qatar Airways aircraft and another operated by Iraq’s UR Airlines, for the first time since the outbreak of the war. The conflict had disrupted airport operations in Lebanon and several Arab countries and prompted European carriers to cancel services to Beirut.
Qatar Airways had previously announced it would operate one daily commercial flight to Beirut.
Mohammad Aziz, head of Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority, said the airport “was not closed; airlines themselves suspended flights to Beirut due to risks posed by military operations to aviation safety.”
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Aziz said he hoped all other carriers would soon resume flights, aiding the airport’s recovery. He added that airlines that halted services due to recent developments were likely to return.
A Qatar Airways plane carrying humanitarian aid landed in Beirut last Friday, before the airline resumed commercial flights on Tuesday alongside UR Airlines.
Their services join those of Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, which maintained operations throughout the war, as well as regular flights by Royal Jordanian and intermittent services by other carriers.
Aziz said no new guarantees or procedures had been introduced.
“The security assurances are the same ones the Lebanese state received through the United States to spare the airport any bombardment,” he said.
He added that agreements between the Civil Aviation Authority and airlines operating in Beirut remain in force. The airport stayed open, while canceled flights listed on schedules reflected airline decisions rather than any change in agreements.
Lebanon received assurances from the United States at the start of the war that Washington was pressing Israel not to target Beirut airport, the country’s only functioning airport.
Aziz said there had been no changes to takeoff and landing procedures, adding that security measures remain strict and in line with international safety standards to ensure the safety of passengers, facilities and flights.
Passenger traffic at Beirut airport has fallen by between 60 and 70 percent since the war began in late February, amid the closure of some regional airports and the suspension of European flights.
Aziz said traffic was “normal” in the sense that arrivals roughly matched departures. On Monday, 2,266 passengers departed Lebanon, compared with 2,241 arrivals, most traveling on Middle East Airlines.
