Aviation History
Middle East Airlines (MEA), founded in 1945, is one of the world's oldest continuously operating airlines and has been Lebanon's sole scheduled flag carrier since absorbing rival Lebanese carriers in the 1960s. MEA kept flying through the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War (at times relocating operations to Larnaca, Cyprus, when Beirut's airport closed) and has since navigated repeated regional conflicts. Note: Lebanon's post-2019 economic and currency collapse, and recurring security disruptions at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport tied to regional conflict (including the 2023-2024 Israel-Hezbollah escalation), are ongoing and fast-changing — current status should be verified rather than assumed fixed.
Middle East Airlines (MEA) was founded in Beirut, beginning what would become one of the world's longest continuously operating airlines.
MEA merged with rival Lebanese carriers, including Air Liban, becoming Lebanon's sole flag carrier with Air France taking a minority stake.
The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) repeatedly closed Beirut's airport and damaged infrastructure; MEA kept partial service running, at times via Larnaca, Cyprus.
With the civil war's end, MEA began rebuilding its fleet and network, gradually restoring Beirut as a regional hub.
Israeli strikes on Beirut's airport runways during the July 2006 war forced a temporary shutdown of Lebanon's only international airport.
A severe national financial crisis beginning in 2019 sharply raised operating costs and pressured MEA's finances, though the airline continued flying throughout.
Escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2023-2024 prompted many foreign airlines to suspend Beirut service and drove up insurance costs, while MEA continued operating; conditions remained volatile and subject to change.
Middle East Airlines (MEA) · Air Liban (historic) · Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA, historic cargo carrier)
Wikipedia, MEA corporate history, news reporting
Aviation Firsts
Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport — Beirut (1954): Opened 23 April 1954, replacing the smaller Bir Hassan Airfield nearby (Bir Hassan's own founding date and civil/military classification were not confirmed this session -- open gap). Rayak, a separate airfield in use since 1914 by various foreign forces (German, Ottoman, British, French) and home to the Lebanese Air Force since its founding there on 1 June 1949, is a military base (Lebanese Armed Forces-owned, hosting the Air Force's aviation and technical schools and museum) with no documented civil or commercial passenger service, and is excluded here as a civil-airport claim. · Wikipedia ↗
Middle East Airlines (MEA) (1945): Founded 31 May 1945 by Saeb Salam and Fawzi El-Hoss with BOAC's technical and operational backing; operations began 1 January 1946. Lebanon's flag carrier today. Its own Wikipedia article mentions 'Air Liban' operating flights in 1950 and 1952 (before merging into MEA in 1963-65) and that MEA took over Lebanese International Airways in 1963, but gives no founding date for either Air Liban or Lebanese International Airways, so it cannot be confirmed whether either predates MEA's 1945 founding -- an open gap, not resolved. · ME ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
No documented foreign entrant found. Beirut-Rafic Hariri's two handlers are both domestic: Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG, MEA's wholly-owned in-house subsidiary) and Lebanese Air Transport (LAT), a Lebanese charter-handling company. IATA's GHP directory lists only MEAG for Lebanon. A 2019 Menzies Aviation "cargo handling contract" with MEA could not be confirmed as Menzies physically operating inside Lebanon (context suggests Menzies handling MEA cargo at Menzies' own overseas stations). No foreign ground handling company entry into Lebanon could be confirmed.