Trump Lifts 41-Year Lebanon Flight Ban: Will Any US Airline Fly To Beirut?

Airlines from the United States can now once again fly to Lebanon… at least in theory. I have a hard time imagining that any airline will actually take advantage of this opportunity, though. US airlines can now once again fly to LebanonWill any US airline actually fly to Beirut, though?Bottom line US airlines can now once again fly to LebanonPresident Trump has announced that airlines from the United States can once again fly to Lebanon, following his meeting with Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun. This represents the reversal of a policy that has been in place since 1985, following the hijacking of TWA flight number 847. This flight was enroute from Athens to Rome, and was forced to land in Beirut, in what dragged on to be a 17-day mess, leading to the death of one US Navy diver.In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shared that it “looks forward to working with airlines and our interagency partners to implement the President’s directive and support the safe return of flights to Lebanon.”https://twitter.com/SecDuffy/status/2079660013501432118Will any US airline actually fly to Beirut, though?It goes without saying that just because airlines can now fly to Lebanon doesn’t mean that they actually will. As I see it, there’s both the short term and long term question of the viability of this kind of service. With everything going on right now, I can’t imagine this service would launch any time soon. US airlines aren’t flying to Tel Aviv right now, and Beirut service seems even riskier. For that matter, the US State Department has a “Do Not Travel” advisory for Lebanon.Lebanon has certainly had some challenges and has changed over the years, and between demand, safety assessments, and getting unions onboard, this just seems like an uphill battle. If a US carrier were to launch this service, one would think that United would be the one to do so, given the extent to which the airline has a global route network.Perhaps the wild card is whether an airline might want to launch this service to “please” Trump, given his narrative here. But again, with the current situation, I can’t imagine we’re anywhere close to such service being able to launch.If we were to see nonstop flights between North America and Beirut, you’d think they’d either be on Middle East Airlines (which has been able to operate this all along), or out of Canada on Air Canada.You’d think Air Canada would launch this kind of service firstBottom linePresident Trump has lifted the ban on US airlines flying to Lebanon, which has been in place since 1985, following a hijacking. So while some more preparations will need to take place, in theory airlines will once again have this opportunity. That’s not to say that they’ll actually take advantage of it, though, given all the hurdles that remain in place.I think it’s a sure bet such service won’t launch any time soon. Could we see it many years down the road? Sure, maybe…Do you think we’ll see any US airline fly to Lebanon? If so, with what timeframe?