Beirut airport cancels flights amid fears of Israeli attack; airlines cite ‘insurance risks’, BA

Several flights at Beirut airport were either cancelled or delayed as tensions rise between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah following a rocket strike in Golan Heights on Saturday, killing 12 teenagers and children. Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) said that insurance risks are one of the primary reasons behind the disruption of flights, as tensions rise between Israel and the armed political group Hezbollah. Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings have cancelled three flights to Beirut scheduled for Monday afternoon, as per flight tracking website Flightradar24. Additionally, Turkish Airlines, SunExpress, AJet, Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air, and MEA have also cancelled flights set to land in Beirut on Monday. Israel’s security cabinet authorized the government to respond to the rocket strike, although Hezbollah has denied any responsibility for the attack.

Lebanon’s Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport has been a target during the country’s civil war and previous conflicts with Israel, including the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Meanwhile, MEA announced delays to flights landing in Beirut overnight on Sunday, citing “technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations”. The escalating cross-border exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military since the start of the Gaza war have disrupted flights and shipping across the region, similar to the reciprocal drone and missile attacks between Israel and Iran in April. Lufthansa has suspended night-time flights to and from Beirut for July due to the current developments in the Middle East.