Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Beirut following cease-fire
Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 TC-JVV plane takes off at Riga International Airport, Latvia, Jan. 17, 2020. (Reuters Photo)


Türkiye's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY), has resumed flights to Beirut after a more than two-month suspension prompted by conflict in the Middle East, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Tuesday.

The airline suspended flights to Beirut on Sept. 21 amid the conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group. The two sides agreed on a cease-fire last week, though both accuse the other of violations.

AA said the airline planned one flight per day in the first phase, rising to two daily flights on Friday. It said there would then be four daily flights from Dec. 11 onwards.

Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the report and its details, but its website showed Istanbul-Beirut flights on sale.

Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted many international airlines to suspend flights to the region or to avoid affected air space in recent months.

Industry majors like Lufthansa Group extended the suspension of its flights to Israel's Tel Aviv until Jan. 31, Reuters reported late November.

Its flights to Tehran are also canceled until Jan. 31, 2025, and to Beirut until Feb. 28.

SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, also suspended flights to Beirut through Dec. 17.

On the other hand, Türkiye's low-cost airline, Pegasus Airlines, canceled flights to Beirut until Jan. 1. Currently, a query on its website does not provide results for available flights in December.