Several flights at Beirut airport have been canceled or delayed, with Lebanon's Middle East Airlines (MEA) attributing the disruptions to insurance risks amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. A rocket attack that killed 12 teenagers and children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday has heightened fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel's security cabinet authorized the government to respond to the attack on Sunday. Hezbollah denied any involvement in the attack, which was the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas' October 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza, which has since spread to multiple fronts.
Lufthansa and Lufthansa's Eurowings have canceled three flights to Beirut scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to the airport's information board and flight tracking website Flightradar24. Turkish Airlines also canceled two flights overnight on Sunday, and Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air, and MEA have also canceled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday, as shown by Flightradar24. The airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon's only airport. It has been targeted during the country's civil war and previous conflicts with Israel, including the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. On Sunday, MEA announced delays for some flights scheduled to land in Beirut overnight and additional delays for flights landing on Monday due to "technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations," according to MEA.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have intensified cross-border exchanges of fire since the Gaza war began. The conflict has disrupted flights and shipping across the region, including during reciprocal drone and missile attacks between Israel and Iran in April. Lufthansa has already suspended night-time flights to and from Beirut for July due to "current developments" in the Middle East.
