Lufthansa Group suspends flights to Beirut amid Middle East tensions

Lufthansa Group suspends flights to Beirut amid Middle East tensions
2024-07-29T06:04:24+00:00

Shafaq News/ On Monday, Lufthansa Group announced that it has suspended its flights to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, until July 30 due to the current situation in the Middle East.

The company stated in a press release that flights operated by the group, including Swiss International Air Lines and Eurowings, have been suspended "as a precautionary measure."

Additionally, Lebanon's Middle East Airlines reported on Monday that irregularities in its flight schedules are related to insurance risks amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have caused some flights at Beirut airport to be canceled or delayed.

A rocket attack that killed 12 people in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday has raised fears of a full-scale war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Israeli security cabinet has authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to respond to the attack.

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack, which caused the highest number of casualties in both Israel and the annexed territories since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 sparked the war in Gaza.

Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings canceled three flights to Beirut scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to airport departure and arrival boards and the flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Flightradar24 data also showed that Turkish Airlines canceled two flights late on Sunday.

Turkish low-cost carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines' subsidiary AnadoluJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and Middle East Airlines also canceled flights scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Monday.

The airlines have not yet responded to requests for comment.

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