Beirut flights cancelled or delayed amid fears of Israeli military operation against Hezbollah

Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings of the Lufthansa Group have decided to suspend their flights from and to Beirut up to and including Aug. 5 due to the current developments in the Middle East, according to a group spokesperson.

Air France and low-cost carrier Transavia France have also suspended their flights between Paris and Beirut due to the “security situation” in Lebanon, a spokesman for the companies stated on Monday.

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) also announced disruptions to its schedule were related to insurance risks.

The rocket strike in the Golan Heights on Saturday has added to concerns that Israel and the powerful group could engage in a full-scale war.

Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday authorised the government to respond to the attack. Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the rocket strike, the deadliest in the occupied territories since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Beirut airport’s flight information board and flight tracking website Flightradar24 show Turkish Airlines also cancelled two flights overnight on Sunday.

Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA have also cancelled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday, Flightradar24 shows.

Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon’s only airport. It has been targeted in the country’s civil war, and previous fighting with Israel, including in the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

On Sunday, MEA said it had delayed the departure of some flights set to land in Beirut overnight. Additional delays to flights landing on Monday were then announced due to “technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations”, MEA added.

Lufthansa has already suspended night-time flights to and from Beirut for July due to “current developments” in the Middle East.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire since early October last year, shortly after Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by its resistance groups. The group has vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks as long as Israel continues its Gaza war.

Hezbollah officials have repeatedly stated they do not want a war with Israel while stressing that they are prepared in case it occurs.