Kuwait Airways (KU, Kuwait) has announced it has suspended until further notice, all flights to Beirut, Lebanon, pending an improvement in the security situation in Syria. The ban is effective Thursday, April 12, and comes after the carrier said in a statement to the KUNA news agency that it had received serious warnings from the Cypriot authorities concerning the safety of air traffic over Lebanon and near Lebanese airspace.
Eurocontrol warned this week that "due consideration needs to be taken when planning flight operations in the Eastern Mediterranean/Nicosia FIR area," owing to the possible use of air-to-ground and/or cruise missiles before or on Friday. It additionally warned that there was a possibility of intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment within the region.
Lebanese carrier MEA - Middle East Airlines (ME, Beirut) has heeded Eurocontrol's warning and has re-routed its flights through Syrian and Cypriot airspace for 72 hours or until midnight, Friday, April 13. El Al Israel Airlines (LY, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion) has also modified the flightpaths of several flights, especially those coming from the Far East, that routinely transit Cyprus en-route to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion. Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) also cancelled its Thursday, April 12, service to Tel Aviv.
The move comes amid growing tension over the US announcement late last week that it will respond to what it has said was a chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma, which it has blamed on the Syrian authorities. US President Donald Trump, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macaron and British Prime Minister Theresa May discussed a range of military options that could be used to deal with the Assad regime, the Associated Press reported.
