Sharjah 24 – AFP: Beirut airport was functioning Sunday but many passengers were stuck as flights were cancelled or delayed after Israel and ‘Hezbollah’ announced broad strikes in an escalation of cross-border hostilities.
Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on Sunday, saying it had thwarted a large-scale ‘Hezbollah’ attack, while the Lebanese group announced its own cross-border strikes to avenge the killing of a top commander, Fuad Shukr, in an Israeli strike last month.
Fears have spiked since Shukr's killing that the cross-border violence could degenerate into all-out conflict between ‘Hezbollah’ and Israel, who last fought a devastating war in the summer of 2006.
On Sunday, passengers sat on the floor in the arrivals hall as screens showed cancelled or delayed flights, while the arrivals area was largely empty.
Air France said it was suspending Beirut flights scheduled for Sunday and Monday, adding that the move could be extended depending on the situation in the Middle East.
Royal Jordanian Airlines announced the suspension of Beirut flights "due to the current situation", and the UAE's Etihad Airways said it had also cancelled its services to and from the Lebanese capital.
On Friday, German airline giant Lufthansa said it was extending a suspension of flights to Beirut until September 30.
Lebanon's civil aviation authority emphasised Sunday that "the airport is functioning normally" despite some disruptions.
There is "no truth" to rumours that all flights have been cancelled, said a statement from the authority carried by the official National News Agency.
A number of airlines had already announced flight suspensions or cancellations to Beirut in recent weeks, with some later resuming services.
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