Lebanese hail bravery of MEA pilots, staff for serving Beirut airport amid war

Lebanese people are celebrating their national airline that has not stopped flying in and out of the country’s only civilian airport amid Israel’s devastating offensive against the country.

After days of relative calm, Israel pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday and Monday night, targeting branches of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution linked to Hezbollah, as well as an area near a hospital in Beirut.

One strike also hit very close to the Rafic Hariri International Airport, located south of Beirut.

Despite the attacks and amid the plumes of smoke and sounds of explosions, planes continued to land on the airport’s runways.

Lebanese national carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) is the only airline still conducting flights to the airport.

There are reportedly US "guarantees" that the airport will not be targeted by Israel as long as it is not being used for military purposes, in a reference to alleged Hezbollah weapons smuggling.

Despite this, there are still worries that the airport could potentially be attacked.

In the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, the Israeli military bombed the airport’s runways several times and shut it down for over a month. It resumed operations a few days after the war ended in August.

An image went viral on Sunday night following the Israeli strikes, depicting a plane landing in the airport at the backdrop of a massive ball of flame.

It quickly became apparent that the image was AI-generated.

This did not stop people from sharing it widely across all social media platforms.

Despite the questionable origin of that particular image, MEA pilots and flight attendants have been hailed for their bravery during times of war. Some have called it "Lebanon's badass airline."

Lebanese singer Melhem Zein recently released a song for the airline titled "Marfu'a al-Arze" (the Cedar is raised) in reference to Lebanon's national emblem, which is depicted prominently on the tailfins of MEA planes.

Other songs have been released in honour of MEA, such a Hani al-Omari's "Halliq ya Lubnan" (Fly oh Lebanon).

In the past however, the company has often faced criticism and backlash for its alleged monopoly of Lebanon’s airline industry and its costly ticket prices. It has also received praise for its continued success in Lebanon despite the five-year economic meltdown.