How Lebanon’s only international airport stays open amid Israeli strikes

Beirut–Rafic Hariri’s eastern runway juts into the Dahiyeh suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has targeted almost every day since March 2, when a salvo of rockets fired by the militants sparked a new Israeli offensive into Lebanon. Some Israeli strikes have fallen less than a mile from the perimeter fence.

“It’s very challenging, it’s very uncertain, but we took a decision to keep our airspace open since day one of the war,” Rasamny said in an interview in his Beirut office. “We’re monitoring every day, every hour the situation at the airport.”

He said Flight ME230 was eventually able to land safely after Israeli fighter jets peeled away following the emergency broadcast. “You need the air traffic controllers to have the courage to manage this. And you need the pilot to have the courage to manage all of this. And they were in sync,” he added.

The airport is a lifeline for Lebanon, a small country whose only land borders are with hostile Israel and war-torn Syria. For Lebanon’s large diaspora population, it is the only way home.

Most international carriers canceled flights to Beirut amid the wider war in the Middle East. But the Lebanese flag carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), is still flying around four flights a day. It has become common for MEA aircraft, adorned with the cedar tree, Lebanon’s national symbol, to take off amid clouds of smoke from Israeli attacks.

Rasamny said the United States has given the Lebanese government assurances that Israel will not attack the airport or endanger civilian aircraft. “I’m in direct contact with the American ambassador to make sure that the airport is safeguarded and also the road leading to the airport,” he said.

Washington’s assurances are critical. In July 2006, Israel bombed the airport during a previous war with Hezbollah. All three runways were damaged and several buildings destroyed after Israel accused the militant group of using the airport for smuggling weapons.

Mohammad Aziz, the head of Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority, said that Israel’s air force usually pauses its bombing when a passenger plane is approaching. “They stop, they let you land, and then they continue,” he said. “It’s not a gentleman’s agreement. But there is a level of understanding.”