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A report issued by the UN aviation agency revealed that Lebanon's main airport lacks a valid certification, which poses a setback to US President Donald Trump's efforts aimed at resuming direct flights between the United States and Beirut.
Trump had announced this move in July and signed an order last month allowing the US government to operate direct flights from the United States to Lebanon, thereby ending a 4-decade suspension.
The suspension was imposed following the hijacking of a TWA flight No. 847 and forcing it to land in Beirut in 1985.
Although the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration still need to conduct safety reviews before flights resume, the Lebanese Embassy in Washington described Trump's decision as "an important first step toward restoring direct air transport services between Lebanon and the United States."
However, the technical assistance mission of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) - a UN agency - which visited Lebanon in July, identified shortcomings at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport and in the aviation system as a whole.
Senior aviation officials familiar with the matter estimate that these findings could lead to a delay in resuming flights, further complicating efforts to implement the decree signed by Trump following his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun. Washington supports Aoun while pushing to disarm the Hezbollah group.
The organization had sent its internal report, prepared at the request of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in Lebanon, to the Lebanese authorities in September.
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