Trump Ends 41-Year U.S.-Lebanon Flight Ban as Iran War Clouds Beirut Security
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 22
Trump Ends 41-Year U.S.-Lebanon Flight Ban as Iran War Clouds Beirut Security
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 22
Summary
A 1985 FAA prohibition on direct U.S. flights to Lebanon is being lifted after Trump ordered his administration to let American carriers fly to Beirut following talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
The ban dated to Hezbollah’s hijacking of TWA Flight 847, a 17-day standoff that killed a U.S. Navy sailor; the FAA said it will work with airlines and other agencies on a safe return of service.
Timing remains unclear, with no formal rollback yet and no indication whether U.S. airlines will actually schedule Beirut routes.
The move expands the potential U.S. footprint in Lebanon even as Israeli troop-withdrawal talks remain fragile, pilot-zone pullbacks have begun, and both sides say Israeli gunfire resumed.
That tension is sharpened by Hezbollah’s rejection of a U.S.-backed disarmament deal and by the wider Iran conflict, which Trump said could still involve him speaking directly to Hezbollah.