Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) ( ar, links=no, طيران الشرق الأوسط ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ''), is the national flag-carrier

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, with its head office in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, near

Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (Arabic: مطار رفيق الحريري الدولي بيروت, (previously known as Beirut International Airport) () is the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon, which is located in the ...

. It operates scheduled international flights to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from its base at Rafic Hariri International Airport. Middle East Airlines (MEA) is a member of the

SkyTeam SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...

airline alliance. MEA expressed its interest in becoming a SkyTeam associate member in early 2006 at a press conference in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. On 28 February 2011, the airline signed the partnership agreement with SkyTeam at a ceremony in Beirut, and officially joined the alliance on 28 June 2012, becoming its 17th member and the second member airline in the Middle East.

History

Middle East Airlines (OD-AGJ) B747-200 taxiing at Euroairport in 1984

Middle East Airlines was founded on 31 May 1945 by

Saeb Salam Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) ( ar, صائب سلام) was a Lebanon, Lebanese politician, who served as List of Prime Ministers of Lebanon, Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese ...

and Fawzi EL-Hoss with operational and technical support from

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

. Operations started on 1 January 1946 using three de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapides on flights between

and

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

, followed by flights to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Two

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

s were acquired in mid-1946.

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

acquired a stake and management contract in September 1949. Pan Am was replaced when BOAC acquired 49% of MEA's shares in 1955. A

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...

was introduced in October 1955 while an Avro York cargo aircraft was leased in June 1957. On 15 December 1960 the first of four

de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...

4Cs arrived. After the association with BOAC ended on 16 August 1961, MEA was merged with Air Liban on 7 June 1963, which gave

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

a 30% holding (since relinquished). The full title was then Middle East Airlines – Air Liban. In 1963 MEA also took over

Lebanese International Airways Lebanese International Airways was a Lebanese airline based in Beirut.Le ...

. The fleet was modernised with the addition of three

Sud Aviation Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for t ...

s in April 1963, three

Boeing 720 The Boeing 720 is an American narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Announced in July 1957 as a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 720 first flew on November 23, 1959. Its type certificate was ...

Bs in January 1966, one leased

Vickers VC10 The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at Brooklands, Surrey, in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance route ...

in March 1967, and a number of

Boeing 707-320C The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

s from November 1967. The current name was adopted in November 1965 when the airline was completely merged with Air Liban. Although operations were interrupted by the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, and by the Israeli raid on Beirut Airport in 1968 - in which the airline lost three Comet 4C's, two Caravelles, a Boeing 707, the Vickers VC10, and the Vickers Viscount - MEA restarted by acquiring a

Convair 990 The Convair 990 Coronado is an American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between 1961 and 1963 by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair 880 produced in respon ...

A from

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

, which entered service on 24 June 1969. A Boeing 747-200B entered service in June 1975 on the Beirut–

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

route, and later on the Beirut–Paris–New York route from April 1983 until mid-1985. MEA had to adjust its operations due to the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

between 1975 and 1991 but continued services despite multiple closures of the base at Beirut International Airport.

Airbus A310-300 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bod ...

s were acquired in 1993 and 1994, followed by an A321-200 in 1997 and the A330-200 (which replaced the A310s) in 2003. The airline has introduced self-check-in kiosks at Beirut International Airport as of July 2010. The airline is also planning on launching the Arabesk Airline Alliance with six other

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

carriers. Their future plans include floating about 25% of their shares on the

Beirut Stock Exchange The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE, Arabic: بورصة بيروت) is the principal and only stock exchange of Lebanon. Located in Beirut, it is a public institution run by a committee including a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and eight members appointed ...

(BSE) as part of a long-term plan to fully privatize the airline. In November 2011, MEA's pilots

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

staged a 48-hour strike after a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

undergoing

cancer treatment Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments (e.g. ...

was dismissed shortly after going on

sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...

. On 28 June 2012, Middle East Airlines joined the

alliance to become its 17th member and the second in the

following

Saudia Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...

. 5,000 staff are employed across the airline group. The

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

of Lebanon,

Banque du Liban Banque du Liban (BdL, ar, مصرف لبنان, English: Bank of Lebanon) is the central bank of Lebanon. It was established on August 1, 1963, and became fully operational on April 1, 1964. It is currently headed by Riad Salameh. One of the ma ...

, owns a majority share of 99.50%.

Destinations

Middle East Airlines flies to 31 destinations in the

, and

. In addition,

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

is served seasonally, while

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; el, Μύκονος ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants according to the ...

is offered as a seasonal charter destination.

Codeshare agreements

MEA has

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

s with the following airlines: *

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport ...

Czech Airlines Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The compa ...

* Etihad Airways *

Gulf Air Gulf Air ( ar, طيران الخليج ''Ṭayarān al-Khalīj'') is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British Pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline ...

ITA Airways Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, E ...

Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الكويتية, ) is the national carrier of Kuwait, with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport, Al Farwaniyah Governorate. It operates scheduled international services thr ...

Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...

Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled ...

Sky Express CJSC Sky Express (russian: ЗАО «Небесный Экспресс»), simply known as Sky Express and in Russian as ''Скай Экспресс'', was a Russian low-cost airline. Its main base was Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russi ...

* TAROM *

Tunisair Société Tunisienne de l'Air, or Tunisair ( ar, الخطوط التونسية) is the national airline of Tunisia. Formed in 1948, it operates scheduled international services to four continents. Its main base is Tunis–Carthage International ...

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...

MEA also participates in

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

's (French National Railways) tgvair program.

Fleet

Current fleet

T7-ME8 Airbus A321-271NX Middle East Airlines LHR 22

Middle East Airlines Airbus A320 on short finals at Geneva International Airport

MEA (excluding Cedar Executive) operates an all-

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

fleet. , it consists of the following aircraft:

Historic fleet

Airbus A300B4 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. Wes ...

Airbus A300-600 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West G ...

* Airbus A310-200 *

Airbus A321-200 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the b ...

* Avro York *

Boeing 720B The Boeing 720 is an American narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Announced in July 1957 as a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 720 first flew on November 23, 1959. Its type certificate was i ...

* Boeing 747-100 * Boeing 747-200B * Convair CV-990A *

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...

Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for th ...

Fleet development

Middle East Airlines firmed up its order for ten

Airbus A320neo family The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...

aircraft (five

A320neo The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...

and five

A321neo The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...

) in January 2013. The order for the A320neo was later converted to five more A321neo aircraft. The first A321neo was delivered on 10 July 2020; the third, delivered 9 October 2020, was the 10,000th A320 family aircraft produced. On 12 December 2018, the then-

Prime Minister of Lebanon The Prime Minister of Lebanon, officially the President of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon. The Prime Minister is appointed by the president of Lebanon, with the consent o ...

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 t ...

, signed an order with engine manufacturer

Rolls-Royce Holdings Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...

for four

Airbus A330-900 The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for " New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed for the Boeing ...

s. During the 2019

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...

, the airline became the launch customer for the A321XLR: four XLRs were ordered, intended for use on routes to Africa and Asia. Cedar Executive, MEA's

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...

subsidiary, took delivery of its first

Embraer Legacy 500 The Embraer Legacy 450/500 and Praetor 500/600 are a family of mid-size and super mid-size business jets built by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The aircraft family was launched with the Legacy 500 in April 2008 and were the first jets ...

on 5 January 2016.

Frequent-flyer program

In 2011, Middle East Airlines changed its frequent-flyer program to a 4-tier program- Blue Cedar, Silver Cedar, Golden Cedar, and President's Club, respectively- in preparation for joining the

airline alliance. Silver Cedar, Golden Cedar, and President's Club members gain numerous benefits such as access to the Cedar Lounge at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, as well as outstation lounges at all MEA destinations. Golden Cedar and President's Club offer additional benefits, including guaranteed economy seat reservation. Cedar Miles can be earned and redeemed on all MEA flights and on all flights operated by

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

, and

, as well as codeshare partners on certain routes. Cedar Miles can also be earned during stays at all

Rotana Hotels Rotana Hotel Management Corporation PJSC ( ar, روتانا) is a hotel management company in the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans and Turkey. It has a portfolio of over 100 properties in 26 cities and operates six sub brands which include Rotana ...

and all

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

car rentals worldwide.

Subsidiaries

MEA owns the following subsidiaries, which are operated independently: *Cedar Executive ::Founded in January 2016, Cedar Executive is a private jet service based at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport which operates business flights across

and the

, using two Embraer Legacy 500s. Clients have access to a private lounge and chauffeur service to the flight. *Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) ::Founded in 1999, MEAG is the main ground handling agent at Beirut International Airport, handling nearly 80% of all traffic. MEAG also operates a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

called ''Cedar Jet Center'' at the General Aviation Terminal. *Middle East Airports Services (MEAS) ::Founded in 1998, MEAS is responsible for the operation and maintenance of Beirut International Airport. Services range from cleaning of the terminals to de-rubberising the runways. *Mideast Aircraft Services Company (MASCO) ::Founded in 1955, MASCO is the only fully-fledged aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul provider at Beirut International Airport. MASCO is a part 145

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

-approved MRO with full airframe check capabilities on the

A300, A310,

A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

, and

A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...

family aircraft. MASCO is also certified to carry out aircraft painting. In addition, MEA owns 77.5% of the Lebanese Beirut Airport Catering Company (LBACC), the only catering provider at Beirut International Airport.

Accidents and incidents

*On 24 July 1950, an Air Liban

, registration LR-AAN was shot at by an Israeli

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

; the DC-3 landed safely at Beirut Airport, but 3 passengers (of 28 on board) were killed in the attack. *On 6 January 1952, Air Liban

SNCASE Languedoc The SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc was a French four-engined airliner produced by SNCASE (Sud-Est). Developed from the Bloch MB.160 and known in the late 1930s as the (SNCSO) Bloch MB.161, the SE.161 was in service with Air France and the French milita ...

OD-ABU crashed on take-off from

Beirut Airport Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

, and was consequently destroyed by fire. All nine passengers and crew on board survived. The aircraft was operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Beirut to Kuwait Airport,

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. *On 29 September 1958, Middle East Airlines Avro York OD-ADB disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea with five on board. *On 1 February 1963, Flight 265, a

Vickers Viscount 754D The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visco ...

registered OD-ADE, was involved in a mid-air collision with

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

''CBK28''. Both aircraft crashed in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, killing all 14 on board the Viscount, all 3 on board the C-47 and a further 87 people on the ground. *On 17 April 1964, Flight 444, operated by Sud Caravelle III OD-AEM struck the sea near

Dhahran Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cit ...

, Saudi Arabia, killing all 49 on board; the cause of the accident was not determined. *On 21 April 1964, Middle East Airlines Vickers Viscount 754D OD-ACX was damaged beyond economic repair at

El Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medite ...

, Egypt after the taxiway it was taxiing on collapsed. *On 28 December 1968, seven MEA aircraft were destroyed in a

raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i commandos at Beirut International Airport. This attack was in retaliation for a

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

on an

El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...

Boeing aircraft in Athens which killed an Israeli mechanic. *On 1 January 1976, Flight 438, operated by

B OD-AFT broke up in mid-air after the explosion of a bomb allegedly placed in the forward cargo compartment. All 81 people on board were killed, some of whom were fleeing the ongoing

. The aircraft crashed near Al Qaysumah,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. *On 12 June 1982, in response to the attempted assassination by the Abu Nidal Group of the Israeli ambassador to Britain, the Israeli army attacked the airport in Beirut, destroying Middle East Airlines Boeing 720-023B OD-AFP. Four days later, four more aircraft (three 720s and one 707) were destroyed in a second attack. On 1 August 1982, a 14-hour non-stop bombing raid on Beirut destroyed Boeing 720-047B OD-AGG. *On 21 August 1985, two MEA Boeing 720's (OD-AFL and OD-AGQ) were destroyed by shelling at Beirut International Airport. *On 8 January 1987, Boeing 707-323C OD-AHB was destroyed by shelling after landing at Beirut International Airport. *On 16 November 2001 an

, with the registration F-OHMP, was operating as Flight 304 from Beirut International Airport to

Cairo International Airport Cairo International Airport (; ''Maṭār El Qāhira El Dawly'') is the principal international airport of Cairo and the largest and busiest airport in Egypt. It serves as the primary hub for Egyptair and Nile Air as well as several other ...

when it sustained damage during a tail strike accident upon landing at Cairo, This airframe would be destroyed by a bomb nearly 14 years later midflight as

Metrojet Flight 9268 Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international chartered passenger flight, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet). On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time EST (04:13 UTC), an Airbus A321-231 operating the flight exploded ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Official SkyTeam website
{{Authority control Airlines of Lebanon Airlines established in 1945 1945 establishments in Lebanon Arab Air Carriers Organization members Government-owned airlines Lebanese governmental organisations Lebanese brands SkyTeam

History

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Fleet

Current fleet

Historic fleet

Fleet development

Frequent-flyer program

Subsidiaries

Accidents and incidents

See also

Notes

References

External links