Lufthansa, Air France halt Beirut flights as tensions rise
The Golan incident heightened fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could spread north to Lebanon
Published: 04:07 PM,Jul 29,2024 | EDITED : 08:07 PM,Jul 29,2024
People sit near their luggages at the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut. — Reuters
BEIRUT: Air France and the German airline group Lufthansa said Monday they were suspending flights to Beirut after Israel threatened reprisals for a deadly rocket strike launched from Lebanon.
Lufthansa services would be halted up to and including August 5 due to 'current developments in the Middle East', a group spokesman said.
Air France and its low-cost subsidiary Transavia France meanwhile said that flights between French airports and Beirut would be suspended on Monday and Tuesday because of the 'security situation' in Lebanon.
Israel has said it would retaliate after rocket fire launched from neighbouring Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday.
Israel blamed Lebanon's Hizbullah movement, which said it had 'no connection' to the strike.
The incident heightened fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could spread north to Lebanon.
The country's only airport in Beirut was packed with travellers on Monday, including families anxiously awaiting delayed flights in the suffocating heat, a photographer said.
Syrian-German traveller Nisreen al Hussein said she found out her flight to Dusseldorf had been cancelled upon arriving at Beirut airport.
'I'm trying to look for another flight but they're all either packed or cancelled,' said Hussein, who was travelling with children.
Many Syrians have been taking flights from Beirut since civil war erupted in their country in 2011.
Ahmad Arafat, from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, said he had been waiting with his family for a delayed Paris flight for two hours.
'I don't know what I'll do if the flight is cancelled,' he said. 'It's going to be difficult waiting long hours in the heat, with young children and little available seating.'
Other airlines have also cancelled or rescheduled flights in the wake of the attack.
A Greek airport source said that an Aegean flight to Beirut had been cancelled on Sunday night.
Lebanon's Middle East Airlines said in a statement that it had rescheduled a number of flights on Sunday and Monday, citing 'technical reasons related to the distribution of (aircraft) insurance risks'.
The Lufthansa group, which includes SWISS and Austrian Airlines, has repeatedly paused travel to the region since the Gaza began in early October.
Israeli forces and Hizbullah have traded cross-border fire following the October 7 attack on Israel which triggered the war in Gaza.
The cross-border violence has so far killed at least 529 people in Lebanon, according to a tally, most of them fighters but also including 104 civilians.
Meanwhile, Israel's government is preparing for a retaliatory strike against Hizbullah in Lebanon following the devastating rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,where at least 12 children were killed on Saturday.
After more than four hours of consultations, the security cabinet authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant 'to decide on the manner and timing of action against Hizbullah,' Netanyahu's office said on Sunday. Earlier he had threatened saying they would pay a 'high price.' As tensions rise - and Western leaders warn against an expansion of the Middle East conflict - Hizbullah said it is preparing for a possibly severe Israeli attack. - AFP/dpa
Lufthansa services would be halted up to and including August 5 due to 'current developments in the Middle East', a group spokesman said.
Air France and its low-cost subsidiary Transavia France meanwhile said that flights between French airports and Beirut would be suspended on Monday and Tuesday because of the 'security situation' in Lebanon.
Israel has said it would retaliate after rocket fire launched from neighbouring Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday.
Israel blamed Lebanon's Hizbullah movement, which said it had 'no connection' to the strike.
The incident heightened fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could spread north to Lebanon.
The country's only airport in Beirut was packed with travellers on Monday, including families anxiously awaiting delayed flights in the suffocating heat, a photographer said.
Syrian-German traveller Nisreen al Hussein said she found out her flight to Dusseldorf had been cancelled upon arriving at Beirut airport.
'I'm trying to look for another flight but they're all either packed or cancelled,' said Hussein, who was travelling with children.
Many Syrians have been taking flights from Beirut since civil war erupted in their country in 2011.
Ahmad Arafat, from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, said he had been waiting with his family for a delayed Paris flight for two hours.
'I don't know what I'll do if the flight is cancelled,' he said. 'It's going to be difficult waiting long hours in the heat, with young children and little available seating.'
Other airlines have also cancelled or rescheduled flights in the wake of the attack.
A Greek airport source said that an Aegean flight to Beirut had been cancelled on Sunday night.
Lebanon's Middle East Airlines said in a statement that it had rescheduled a number of flights on Sunday and Monday, citing 'technical reasons related to the distribution of (aircraft) insurance risks'.
The Lufthansa group, which includes SWISS and Austrian Airlines, has repeatedly paused travel to the region since the Gaza began in early October.
Israeli forces and Hizbullah have traded cross-border fire following the October 7 attack on Israel which triggered the war in Gaza.
The cross-border violence has so far killed at least 529 people in Lebanon, according to a tally, most of them fighters but also including 104 civilians.
Meanwhile, Israel's government is preparing for a retaliatory strike against Hizbullah in Lebanon following the devastating rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,where at least 12 children were killed on Saturday.
After more than four hours of consultations, the security cabinet authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant 'to decide on the manner and timing of action against Hizbullah,' Netanyahu's office said on Sunday. Earlier he had threatened saying they would pay a 'high price.' As tensions rise - and Western leaders warn against an expansion of the Middle East conflict - Hizbullah said it is preparing for a possibly severe Israeli attack. - AFP/dpa