Lebanon witnesses a surge in flights to Beirut as the funeral of late Hezbollah secretary generals Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine approaches.
A local travel agency in Beirut told Al-Manar on Wednesday that flights to Beirut are fully booked, just days ahead of the funeral scheduled on Sunday, February 23.
Al-Ajouz travel agency said there have been no available seats on flights from Baghdad, Najaf, Amman, Istanbul, Cairo, Frankfurt and Doha to Beirut between Friday and Saturday.
The video below, provided by Al-Ajouz local travel agency, shows how the flights from Cairo, Amman, Baghdad, Najaf to Beirut on Thursday and Istanbul are nearly fully booked.
Meanwhile, AFP news agency quoted sources in the transportation sector as saying that flights between Baghdad and Beirut are nearly fully booked this week.
Among the airlines operating between Baghdad and Beirut, Iraqi Airways and Middle East Airlines have both increased their flights this week.
Iraqi Transport Ministry spokesperson told AFP that “in response to high demand from Iraqis, Iraqi Airways will double its flights to Beirut from one to two per day” starting February 20.
He noted a “surge in demand” as the funeral date approaches.
A source at the airline confirmed that “all seats on its Baghdad-to-Beirut flights are fully booked.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that flights from and to Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport will be suspended from 12pm to 4pm Sunday, during the funeral.
The funeral of Sayyed Nasrallah and Sayyed Safieddine, martyred in Israeli strikes during the latest aggression on Lebanon, will take place at 13:00 on Sunday, at Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium.
Preparations are in full swing for the funeral at the stadium.
4 أيام لمواراة الشمس pic.twitter.com/8BsPTh0hLI
— قناة المنار (@TVManar1) February 19, 2025
Officials and figures from 79 countries are to take part in the funeral, that will include a speech by current Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem and is to be followed by a procession to the site where Sayyed Nasrallah is to be laid to rest in the outskirts of Beirut.
Sayyed Saffiedine will be laid to rest in his Lebanese southern hometown of Deir Qanoun Al-Nahr.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
