Beirut stops rerouting flights as Russia halts manoeuvres

Beirut // Beirut airport stopped rerouting flights on Sunday after Russian military manoeuvres in the eastern Mediterranean ended a day early, Lebanon’s transport minister said.

Lebanon had said Moscow, which is carrying out air strikes in neighbouring Syria, asked for flights to be rerouted on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to avoid overflying an area where the manoeuvres were taking place.

“Russia’s navy has informed the relevant Lebanese authorities of the end of the manoeuvres that had started in the night of Friday to Saturday,” transport minister Ghazi Zeaiter said, adding that flight operations were “returning to normal”.

There has not been any confirmation from Moscow of the request, which came after Russia launched strikes in Syria in late September against rebels and the extremist group ISIL, in support of the forces of president Bashar Al Assad’s regime.

The impact of the restrictions had been limited, with Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines reporting only a few delays and other airlines a handful of cancellations.

* Agence France-Presse