Tag Archives for beirut.
Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has banned passengers departing from Beirut from traveling with walkie talkies and pagers – either with them into the cabin, or in checked luggage. I fully expect calls to broaden the ban put in place by Lebanon – to electronics broadly, and even wifi, out of fear that a connected device could be ordered to detonate.
Hezbollah launched a rocket attack into Israel on Saturday, killing 12 children playing on a soccer field. 44 people were injured.
Middle East Airlines, the Lebanese national carrier, has announced day-long delays for several flights originally scheduled to arrive in Beirut on the evening of July 28, 2024. They want to keep their planes out of the country, fearing that Beirut’s airport will be targeted in an Israeli response.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and International Civil Aviation Organisation conducted a “pre-audit” in June, to prepare for next year’s formal Universal Safety Oversight Audit, to give them a chance to rectify problems first. They identified two issues, both problems in the United States, but it’s the details here that are scary.
SkyTeam member Middle East Airlines had a bullet pierce an Airbus A320 that was landing in Beirut after a short 40 minute flight from Amman, Jordan.
The bullet pierced the fuselage of the aircraft before it landed on Beirut’s runway 16. It’s not believed to have been intentional or involved terrorism – careless gunfire near the airport hits several parked planes there each year, though it’s the first moving aircraft I’m aware of that was hit.
Two pilots and an official with a private jet operator have been convicted in Turkey over the daring escape from Japan of former Nissan, Mistubishi, Renault and Michelin North America head Carlos Ghosn. Meanwhile two flight attendants were acquitted of failing to report a crime. International fugitive Ghosn was once Fortune‘s “Asia Businessman of the Year,” “Man Of The Year, and “10 Most Powerful People In Business Outside The U.S.” His life has been chronicled in Japanese comics. But he was arrested at Tokyo Narita airport in November 2018 for tax evasion and misappropriating Nissan coompany assets. He was granted bail, but re-arrested and released on new charges in April 2019. Renault then uncovered over $13 million in improper expenses he’d incurred. On December 29, 2019 Ghosn left his apartment in Tokyo around 2:30 p.m.…
Earlier in July a Turkish Airlines flight had to abort a landing attempt because runway lights had gone out due to lack of electricity.
The economy has largely collapsed, and the collapse has happened quickly. Perhaps $100 billion is missing from the banking system and the “Lebanese pound has lost over 60 percent of its value in just the past month.”
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
