Dozens of passengers at Lebanon’s only international airport were anxiously checking announcement boards Sunday as more flights to the capital were cancelled or delayed amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Beirut International Airport was functioning but many passengers were stuck as major airlines announced flight suspensions, after Israel and Hezbollah announced broad strikes in an escalation of cross-border hostilities.
“We came at 4:30 am (0130 GMT) for our flight at 8:00 am but they told us it was cancelled,” said Elham Shukair, a passenger headed to the United States via Jordan. Seated on her bag in the arrivals hall, she said she had booked another flight later Sunday with Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines in the hope of reaching Amman and making her onward connection.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
But Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on Sunday, saying it had thwarted a large-scale Hezbollah attack, while the Lebanese group announced its own cross-border strikes to avenge the killing of a top commander, Fuad Shukr, in an Israeli strike last month.
Fears have spiked since Shukr’s killing that the cross-border violence could degenerate into all-out conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, who last fought a devastating war in the summer of 2006.
Israel bombed Beirut airport during that war.
On Sunday, other passengers sat on the floor in the departures hall as screens showed cancelled or delayed flights, while the arrivals area was largely empty.
“Our flight is still scheduled but it is delayed,” said Diala Hatoum, who was set to travel with her son on a Qatar Airways flight.
“We will see, we are waiting now,” she added.
– Stranded passengers –
Passengers at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport also faced uncertainty after aviation authorities delayed or redirected flights.
The airport resumed operations from 7:00 am (0400 GMT) following a brief suspension, but dozens of passengers were left stranded after some flights were cancelled or delayed.
“We really want a break from all of this… the situation in Israel,” said Sofia Levi, 23, a stranded passenger.
Shay Shauli, 45, who planned to fly to Athens, said he had been waiting at the terminal for more than three hours.
“I am waiting to see if the flight is still going. If it does not, then I need to buy a new ticket and it is much more expensive,” he told AFP.
Air France and its subsidiary Transavia said they were suspending flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv scheduled for Sunday and Monday, adding that the move could be extended depending on the situation in the Middle East.
Royal Jordanian Airlines announced the suspension of Beirut flights “due to the current situation”.
The UAE’s Etihad Airways said it had also cancelled its services on Sunday to and from Beirut and Tel Aviv.
On Friday, German airline giant Lufthansa said it was extending a suspension of flights to Beirut until September 30 and to Tel Aviv until September 2.
Lebanon’s civil aviation authority emphasised Sunday that “the airport is functioning normally” despite some disruptions.
There is “no truth” to rumours that all flights have been cancelled, said a statement from the authority carried by the official National News Agency.
A number of airlines had already announced flight suspensions or cancellations to Beirut in recent weeks, with some later resuming services.
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