SerpApi.Org
President Donald Trump has directed his administration to allow U.S. airlines to fly directly to Lebanon again, potentially ending a restriction that has kept American carriers away from Beirut for more than 40 years. The decision followed Trump's meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House on July 21, but travelers shouldn't expect nonstop flights to suddenly appear on airline booking pages. Security reviews still have to be completed, and there is another rather important detail: the State Department currently tells Americans not to travel to Lebanon at all.
According to Reuters, Trump directed his administration to permit U.S. carriers to resume direct service to Lebanon for the first time since 1985. The FAA said it would work with airlines and other federal agencies to implement the directive, although a U.S. security assessment of Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport must be completed before operations resume.
In other words, Washington has unlocked the door. Nobody has rolled an airplane through it yet. American Airlines, Delta, and United have not announced new Beirut routes, meaning there are currently no shiny new nonstop tickets for travelers to rush out and buy. Even once regulatory and security hurdles are cleared, airlines would still need to decide whether a route makes commercial and operational sense.
The change nevertheless closes an extraordinary chapter in U.S. aviation history. American airline operations to Beirut were prohibited in 1985 following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847. The Boeing 727 was seized shortly after departing Athens for Rome and diverted to Beirut, beginning a 17-day hostage crisis. U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem was killed during the ordeal.
The FAA issued its prohibition on operations into Beirut International Airport on July 1, 1985. More than four decades later, aviation looks dramatically different, and the agency itself is now experimenting with everything from modernized air traffic systems to an FAA plan to use AI to stop flight delays before they start.
But technology isn't the biggest obstacle facing anyone thinking about a Lebanese vacation. The State Department's current Lebanon travel advisory remains at Level 4: Do Not Travel, its highest warning level. It cites risks including armed conflict, terrorism, kidnapping, unrest, crime, and landmines. The department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members to leave Lebanon in February.
That makes this one of the stranger travel developments of the summer. The U.S. government is working toward making it easier to fly directly to Lebanon while simultaneously advising Americans not to go there. There is also no guarantee that regional aviation will cooperate. The State Department issued a worldwide caution on July 20, warning that tensions across the Middle East could lead to airspace closures, flight cancellations, and other disruptions.
So, for now, Beirut remains more of a future possibility than a new addition to your summer itinerary. And if you are sufficiently optimistic to pack anyway, remember that TSA allows tents on planes. You know, just in case your hotel reservation disappears somewhere between the security assessment and the next airspace closure.
