Israel-Iran Tension, Airport in Lebanon Chaos

Jakarta –

According to the US embassy in Beirut: Sweden, Britain, Germany, France, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have all issued similar statements asking their citizens to leave Lebanon, citing concerns that rising tensions between Israel and Iran could lead to a wider war, which has affected Lebanon.

Confusion and panic among passengers coincided with the suspension of flights to and from Beirut by several airlines, including Germany’s Lufthansa, France’s Air France and budget airline Transavia. Kuwait Airlines has also suspended flights and Qatar Airways has suspended overnight flights to Beirut.

Many of those involved at the airport posted photos and videos on social media. “I was supposed to leave yesterday, but my flight was delayed,” one intended passenger, Sirine Hakim, told AFP news agency. The 22-year-old had spent three weeks in Lebanon visiting family, but had to leave due to work commitments.

The airport remains open

Despite almost non-stop retaliatory rocket fire in southern Lebanon, on the country’s border with Israel, the impact on Beirut’s summer visitor arrivals was minimal at first, with tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens working or studying abroad without stopping from visiting.

Lebanon has a large diaspora. As many as 14 million Lebanese live abroad. Many of them return to Lebanon regularly and that seems to be the case this year as well.

Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority said it counted 400,000 arrivals in June this year, with 80 to 90 flights landing in Beirut each day. Most of those who arrive this year are expatriates from Lebanon.

The tourism sector is the hardest hit. Revenues from Europe and North America fell by around 17% and 15%, according to March statistics.

Despite the chaos and confusion at Beirut airport this week, the airport is still operating normally as the head of the Private Pilots Association in Lebanon, Mazen Sammak, has confirmed to DW. The airport was busy, he said, but that was likely because many embassies were simultaneously asking their citizens to leave Lebanon.

“The embassies clearly stated the need to leave Beirut on the first flight, which caused panic as foreign nationals rushed to travel as quickly as possible,” said Mazen Sammak, head Private Pilots Association in Lebanon, to DW.

“The crisis worsened when several airlines canceled flights to Beirut. This then led to an increase in the demand for tickets for flights that were still operating, which led to an increase in ticket prices,” he said.

The airport is still operational

“If the airfield in Lebanon is closed for a short time, it does not affect the air traffic at the Egyptian airports and, so far, the traffic to our airports has not been go up,” said Khaled Wassel, Cairo Ground Operations Manager for Corendon Airlines, the Turkish carrier.

However, that was not the case in April, he told DW, when airports in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq were closed due to drone and missile attacks from Iran on Israel. The attack was Iran’s retaliation for an Israeli missile that hit the Iranian embassy building in Damascus, Syria, killing a senior Iranian military commander.

“At that time, Egypt did not close its airfield, so there was a huge increase in air traffic here,” Wassel explained.

This conflict could spell disaster for the region’s aviation sector, warned Zuhair Khashman, CEO of Jordan Aviation, a private airline.

“Airport closures and cancellations of flights and routes – all of this could spell economic disaster for airlines, especially as many are still recovering from the the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Many stranded travelers in Beirut seem to fear a repeat of the events of 2006. At that time, in response to the capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, Israeli jets bombed Beirut airport. At the time, Israel said this was because the airport could be used to transport weapons to Hezbollah, or to take out hostages.

The Lebanese government has said it does not support Hezbollah’s attacks and has called for an immediate ceasefire. Bombed in July 2006 and then blockaded by Israel, Beirut’s airport was closed until September of that year.

Sammak from the Private Pilots Association does not believe that Beirut airport will close now if it didn’t have to, for example, if it was bombed.

So far, congestion and flight cancellations in Beirut have not affected air traffic in surrounding countries. However, if the situation continues, it could happen.

“This is not the first time the airport has been closed,” said Sammak. “And in the past people found a way to leave, either through Tripoli or Jounieh. I am sure that, given the situation, even if it were necessary to close the airport now, it would only last a few hours, or at least a day or two. (app/mobile phone)

“The original manuscript was written in Arabic.

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(eng/ita)