Australians warned not to travel to Lebanon as some flights to Beirut cancelled or delayed amid fears of Israeli attack
- by Admin
- July 29, 2024
In short:
The federal government has issued a fresh warning against Australians travelling to Lebanon and asking those in the country to “leave immediately”.
Tensions between Israel and armed political group Hezbollah are escalating after rockets fired from Lebanon killed a dozen children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
What’s next?
DFAT’s Smartraveller website warns the security situation could deteriorate rapidly with little or no notice.
The federal government has issued a fresh warning advising Australians against travelling to Lebanon and asking those in the country to “leave immediately” as tensions escalate between Israel and Hezbollah in the aftermath of an attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Flights to and from Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, were cancelled or delayed on Monday, with Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) stating that disruptions to its schedule were related to insurance risks.
Smartraveller, which is run by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), updated its warning for Lebanon on July 29.
“We continue to advise that Australians do not travel to Lebanon due to the volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further,” it read.
“Australians in Lebanon should leave immediately while commercial flights remain available.
“The security situation could deteriorate rapidly throughout Lebanon with little or no notice. Some airlines have postponed or cancelled some flights. Further flight cancellations and disruptions could occur with little or no notice.”
Smarttraveller first changed the travel advice to Lebanon to “do not travel” in October 19, citing the “volatile security situation” .
The fresh warning comes after a rocket struck a soccer pitch in village in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on Saturday, local time, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 20.
Among the fatalities were children and teenagers, all aged between 10 and 20, in what was the deadliest attack in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas’s October 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel’s military says the rocket was fired by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is denying the claim.
The rocket strike has added to concerns that Israel and the Iran-backed group could engage in a full-scale war and other airlines have suspended flights.
International airports cancel flights
Air France said that due to the security situation at the destination, it will suspend flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut for the days of July 29 and 30.
“Air France is monitoring the situation in Lebanon in real time,” the airline said.
Airlines under the Lufthansa Group including Germany’s Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings all suspended flights to and from Beirut until August 5.
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Turkish Airlines cancelled two flights on Sunday, local time, and Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA all cancelled flights on Monday according to Beirut airport’s flight information board and flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Jordan’s flag carrier Royal Jordanian also suspended flights to Beirut on Monday and Tuesday, Jordanian Television reported.
ABC/Reuters
Posted , updated
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