How ‘hero of the sky’ continues evacuation flights despite missiles dropping metres away
Smoke rising from crumbling buildings scattered like scars across Beirut -this is the view from the windows of Middle East Airline (MEA) planes.
Since the start of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in its war against Hezbollah, airlines – one by one – suspended flights to the capital. But not MEA.
Lebanon’s national carrier has emerged as a ‘hero of the sky,’ continuing to evacuate people.
For Captain Mohammed Aziz, who was a pilot during the country’s Civil War, this is not true.
The MEA spokesperson told Metro that Western governments, including Britain, US and France, have provided assurances to the government that Israel will not strike the airport.
Yet, Israeli missiles are dropping just a few hundred metres from the Rafik Hariri International Airport during takeoffs and landings.
Captain Aziz said about MEA’s decision to continue to fly: ‘The airport is not far from Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been getting bombed since the start of the war.
‘We have assurances from Western embassies that the airport will be kept aside from the conflict. This is what is allowing us to continue operations.’
Figures provided by MEA show that in October, 135,000 people fled Beirut on one of their flights, while only 40,000 bough a seat on return flights.
‘In November, we have 63,000 passengers leaving and 53,000 returning,’ Captain Aziz pointed out.
‘This shows we have the trust of people in the way we are operating and it is encouraging.’
He added: ‘People know that the airport is open, so there is hope, even for those who do not fly. They know that Lebanon is not isolated from the rest of the world.
‘The airport is our only regular link. There are boats to Cyprus, but they are very expensive and do not have enough space.
‘And hopefully today or tomorrow, there will be a ceasefire, which will end all this. It would give us space to breath.’
This is the latest conflict that MEA has not failed the Lebanese after flying through the 1967 and 1973 regional wars, as well as the 15-year Civil War that ended in 1990, and then Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006.
More than a dozen of pilots and flight attendants are second generations in the aviation industry, so Captain Aziz said they very well know about the challenges their parents went through in past conflicts.
In the past three months, MEA has received a lot of praise for maintaining flights and staff have been applauded for their ‘courage’.
Frank Mollen, the Netherlands ambassador to Lebanon, hailed the airline as ‘the pride of the nation, keeping so many, including myself, connected to the rest of the world.’
Lebanese pharmacist, Dr Maggie Sakr, wrote in a post on X: ‘To the pilots of MEA, the heroes of the sky who have not stopped flying despite the devastating war in Lebanon, you are the embodiment of determination and steadfastness.’
One MEA pilot, Captain Rola Hoteit, shared a video on Instagram showing the perilous landings at the airport and the explosions in the near distance.
She wrote: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Through
all hardships, we continue to fly, carrying Lebanon’s name and cedar across the vast skies.’
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