Turkey's airlines suspend flights to Lebanon amid rising tensions

Highlights

Turkey's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, and the country's low-cost carrier, Pegasus Airlines, have cancelled their flights to and from Lebanon due to heightened risks, local media reported on Tuesday.

Istanbul: Turkey's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, and the country's low-cost carrier, Pegasus Airlines, have cancelled their flights to and from Lebanon due to heightened risks, local media reported on Tuesday.

The decision comes in response to Israel's air strikes on Lebanon, affecting flights to and from Beirut scheduled for Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Haberturk daily.

Currently, tickets from Istanbul to Beirut are unavailable for Wednesday on the Turkish Airlines website, though bookings for Thursday remain open.

For some time, both airlines have limited operations to daytime flights for safety reasons due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Meanwhile, Pegasus's new regulation prohibited carrying pagers or radio devices on flights to and from Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. "This applies to all personal bags, cabin luggage, and cargo, with confiscation by airport security if violated," said the airline on its website last Friday.

Last week, simultaneous pager explosions in Lebanon resulted in over 30 deaths and thousands of injuries. Following the attacks, the Israeli government announced that Israel has entered a "new phase" in its conflict with Hezbollah.