Flights gradually resume at Beirut airport as US delivers security guarantees

International airlines began restoring services to the Lebanese capital from April 14 after a roughly 40-day suspension, as tensions eased following US pressure on Israel not to target the airport during the recent conflict.

Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport—the country’s only operational airport—remained open throughout the war, but many carriers suspended flights due to security concerns, according to Mohammad Aziz, head of the Civil Aviation Authority, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Flights have now resumed from several regional carriers, including Qatar Airways and Iraq’s UR Airlines, alongside Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, which continued operating throughout the conflict. Royal Jordanian has also maintained regular services, with other airlines gradually returning.

Aziz stressed that operations have resumed without any new procedures or guarantees. “The security assurances are the same ones the Lebanese state received through the United States to spare the airport any bombardment,” he said.

Lebanese Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny said he had been informed by foreign diplomatic sources that Israel would refrain from targeting the airport “as long as its activities remain civilian.” The assurances extend to both the airport grounds and the main access road, he added.

Despite the partial recovery, passenger traffic remains sharply reduced. Volumes have dropped by 60–70% since the outbreak of hostilities in late February, reflecting continued caution among travellers and airlines.

A full recovery in air traffic is likely to take longer, as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency this week extended its advisory urging airlines to avoid most Middle Eastern airspace, including Lebanon, until at least April 24.

The guidance also applies broadly across the Gulf region, including “all flight levels and altitudes” covering Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, and parts of Saudi Arabia, with a limited exception for certain higher-altitude operations in parts of Saudi and Omani airspace subject to strict risk assessment.

By Nazrin Sadigova