The ongoing military conflict in the Middle East is impacting civil aviation in the region to an unprecedented degree. Since 2024, Lebanon has been subjected to continuous Israeli military strikes, primarily targeting positions and headquarters of the Shiite Hezbollah militia.
Despite the diplomatic initiatives announced by US President Donald Trump to end the mutual attacks, deep uncertainty and skepticism persist among the Lebanese population and business community, as militant groups continue to be observed in the south of the country and in the area surrounding the capital, Beirut. Amid this volatile security situation, the national carrier, Middle East Airlines, is maintaining its flight operations as one of the few remaining airlines at Beirut's international airport. However, the carrier's management is now facing a massive internal crisis: a strongly worded letter from its own pilots accuses management of taking incalculable risks at the expense of flight safety. The flight crews complain about being systematically assigned to routes along active conflict zones. The incident has now drawn the attention not only of the Lebanese aviation authority but is also causing considerable unrest within the global airline alliance SkyTeam, of which the carrier is a member.
Internal conflict over security risks and disciplinary measures
The foundation of the current dispute is a formal complaint filed by a group of Middle East Airlines pilots with Lebanon's national aviation authority, the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority. The document, the contents of which were reported in detail by the international news agency Reuters, reveals that the flight crews have been subjected to immense psychological and operational pressure for months. The pilots report that they have been instructed by flight operations management to use flight corridors located in close proximity to active military conflict zones. Takeoffs and landings at Beirut-Rafiq al-Hariri Airport, in particular, are considered extremely dangerous, as Israeli rockets have repeatedly struck the airport grounds in recent months.
A particularly serious point in the pilots' complaint concerns the company's handling of safety reports. According to the crews, pilots who officially reported safety-related incidents or concerns regarding flight paths were sanctioned by management. This practice contradicts international aviation safety principles, which are based on a transparent and non-punishable reporting culture to identify potential hazards early on. Middle East Airlines immediately refuted the allegations, citing a comprehensive audit by the national aviation authority that took place between May 18 and June 1. According to the airline's management, this regulatory investigation revealed no safety violations or operational deficiencies.
International warnings and the isolation of Lebanese airspace
The pilots' internal allegations are gaining considerable weight in light of international expert assessments. Due to the complex military situation, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued a strict safety warning for the entire region. The agency categorically advises all commercial airlines against flying through Lebanese airspace. This warning explicitly applies to all altitudes, as modern air defense systems and long-range missiles used in the conflict can also pose a threat to regular cruising altitudes for civil aviation. The Lebanese army itself is not involved in the fighting, but it lacks the resources to effectively protect its airspace from Israeli air forces or militia missile launches.
As a result of EASA warnings and similar announcements from other Western aviation authorities, almost all foreign scheduled airlines suspended their flights to Beirut months ago. Companies such as the Lufthansa Group, Air France, and the major Gulf carriers completely avoid the country's airspace. This has effectively made Middle East Airlines the only remaining air link between Lebanon and the Western world. While this monopoly ensures consistently high demand and secures the country's logistical connections, it also increases the economic pressure on management to maintain operations at all costs.
The crisis spreads to the global airline alliance Skyteam.
The matter has long since transcended Lebanon's national borders and is now occupying the governing bodies of one of the world's largest airline alliances. The operating company has been an integrated member of the SkyTeam alliance for many years, which includes renowned airlines such as Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, and Korean Air. According to industry sources, the Lebanese pilots' open letter is now circulating extensively within the alliance's international bodies.
The SkyTeam Pilots Association, representing the alliance's pilots, has taken up the matter. The organization believes the reports from Beirut compromise the fundamental safety standards of the entire alliance. According to Reuters, the association has officially placed the safety concerns of the Lebanese crews on the agenda of several major alliance members. Should the allegations prove true that a member airline is punishing pilots for safety reports or deliberately exposing them to incalculable military risks, this could have far-reaching consequences for the partnership. Western airlines that rebook passengers onto Middle East Airlines flights via codeshare agreements are thus placed in a legal and ethical gray area regarding their duty of care to their own customers.
Economic and geopolitical dimensions for Lebanon
Maintaining domestic air traffic is of immense strategic importance to the Lebanese state. The country is in the midst of a deep economic crisis, and Beirut's international airport is the only functioning gateway for the transport of foreign currency, diplomatic representatives, and urgently needed supplies. A complete shutdown of air traffic would complete the country's geopolitical isolation, as its land borders with Syria are also considered unsafe.
The airline's management argues internally that route planning is carried out in close coordination with military operations centers and the civil aviation authority, and that risk is minimized through continuous analysis. However, for the pilots and flight attendants who perform their duties in the cabin and cockpit every day, the daily experience of explosions in the vicinity of the airport weighs more heavily than official audits. The coming weeks will show whether international pressure from the SkyTeam alliance forces Middle East Airlines' management to adjust its operational strategy or to temporarily reduce its flight schedule in order to avoid further endangering the lives of crews and passengers.