Gulf airlines delay resumption of Lebanon flights as ceasefire begins

Gulf airlines are delaying the resumption of flights to Beirut as they wait to learn if a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah holds. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, flydubai, Saudia and Oman Air are among the companies whose flights remain suspended. Emirates airline and Etihad Airways recently said flights would be off until January. Tens of thousands of expatriate Lebanese in the Gulf are expected to try to visit family in the coming weeks, amid hopes that a 60-day ceasefire is not breached. Flydubai told The National it was closely monitoring the situation. Emirates also said flights were suspended, while Etihad's website showed that flights to Beirut are on hold until January 13. The websites of Qatar Airways, Saudia and Oman Air show that their services remain cancelled. Jordan’s flag-carrier Royal Jordanian, which suspended flights in August, has not updated any information on flights to Lebanon. Lebanon's national airline Middle East Airlines (MEA) is the only carrier that has kept flights operating from Beirut, even as the area around Rafic Hariri International Airport was bombed by Israeli jets. MEA operates flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi but services are full in the coming days. Before they were fully booked for December 1, a ticket for the flight is just under Dh2,500 ($680), far more than usual. The Skyscanner website shows an option to fly to Cairo, Kuwait and Amman from Dubai and onwards to Beirut through MEA with prices for a single seat from Dh4,000.<br/>