Beirut-Rafik Hariri’s eastern runway runs into the suburbs of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has targeted daily since March 2, when rockets fired by the militants sparked a new Israeli offensive into Lebanon. Some Israeli strikes landed less than a mile from the perimeter fence.
“It’s very challenging, it’s very uncertain, but we made a decision to keep our airspace free from the first day of the war,” Rasamni said in an interview in his Beirut office. “We are monitoring the airport situation every day, every hour.”
Flight ME230 was eventually able to land safely after Israeli fighter jets peeled off after an emergency broadcast, he said. “You need an air traffic controller to have the guts to manage this. And you need a pilot to manage all this. And they were in sync,” he added.
The airport is a lifeline for Lebanon, whose only land borders are with enemy Israel and war-torn Syria. For Lebanon’s large diaspora population, this is the only way home.
Most international carriers have canceled flights to Beirut amid widespread war in the Middle East. But Lebanon’s flag carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), still flies four flights a day. It is common for MEA aircraft, decorated with Lebanon’s national symbol of the cedar tree, to take off amid clouds of smoke from Israeli strikes.
Rasamni said the United States had assured the Lebanese government that Israel would not attack the airport or endanger civilian flights. “I am in direct contact with the American ambassador to ensure the airport is secured and the road leading to the airport,” he said.
Washington’s promises are decisive. In July 2006, Israel bombed the airport during the previous war with Hezbollah. All three runways were damaged and several buildings destroyed after Israel accused the militant group of using the airport to smuggle weapons.
Mohammed Aziz, head of Lebanon’s civil aviation authority, said Israel’s air force usually pauses its bombing raids when a passenger plane approaches. “They stop, they let you get off, and then they move on,” he said. “It’s not a gentlemen’s agreement, but there is a level of understanding.”
