Beirut airport lacks valid certification — The National
Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, lacks valid certification, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has identified regulatory shortcomings. This could complicate the resumption of direct flights between Lebanon and the United States, The National reports, citing Reuters.
Airport shortcomings
An ICAO technical mission that worked in Lebanon in July at the request of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority identified problems at the airport and in the aviation oversight system. The organization submitted an internal report to the Lebanese side in September.
The report summary states that the airport's fire and rescue resources can serve narrow-body aircraft, but not wide-body airliners, which are typically used on long-haul routes. The airport also lacks an emergency action plan, and its conditional certification has expired.
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ICAO also pointed to shortcomings at the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority. In particular, these include a shortage of qualified inspectors to oversee air traffic controller licensing and the absence of a fully established independent aircraft accident investigation body with clearly defined powers.
Restoring certification
Lebanon's Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny said that the authorities are working to address the remarks. According to him, work on airport certification began on Saturday, and the Civil Aviation Authority expects to issue conditional certification in the coming days. He added that most of the issues raised in the report were already known to the regulator, but progress was delayed by the war.
US President Donald Trump last month signed an executive order allowing direct flights from the United States to Lebanon, lifting a suspension that had lasted about four decades after the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985. At the same time, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration still need to conduct security inspections. Three representatives of US airlines told Reuters that they do not expect flights to resume quickly because of security risks.
