Turkish Airlines, SunExpress cancel flights amid Israel-Hezbollah tensions

Flight information displayed at Beirut airport and the flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that Turkish Airlines canceled two flights overnight on Sunday.

Flights to and from Beirut’s airport faced cancellations and delays on Monday as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalated following a deadly strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers.

Türkiye-based airlines cancel flights

Additionally, Türkiye-based budget carrier SunExpress and Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet also canceled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday.

Air France also announced on Monday that it would suspend flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut on July 29 and 30, 2024, because of the security situation at the destination.

On the other hand, the Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, and Eurowings, stated that it would suspend flights to and from Beirut up to and including Aug. 5 because of the current developments in the Middle East.

Potential full-scale war

Hezbollah and the Israeli military have increased cross-border exchanges of fire since the Gaza war began, affecting flights and shipping across the region.

This includes reciprocal drone and missile attacks between Israel and Iran in April.

The recent rocket strike in the Golan Heights has heightened concerns about the potential for a full-scale war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.