Lebanon denies reports of heavy weapons smuggling at Beirut airport – AeroTime

The Lebanese Minister of Transport, Ali Hamie, denied information published on June 23, 2024 in the British newspaper The Telegraph which pointed to Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) in Beirut as a place of transit and storage of weapons from the Hezbollah militia and its Iranian supporters.

Citing anonymous whistleblowers among airport staff, The Telegraph reported that all manner of weapons, including ballistic missiles, artillery rockets, laser-guided anti-tank missiles (ATGMs) and substances explosives, would regularly arrive at the airport aboard flights from Iran.

According to these same sources, weapons are stored within airport facilities with the complicity or connivance of airport staff. These shipments have reportedly increased in frequency and quantity since the start of the Gaza war.

The Lebanese government vehemently denied the accusations, calling them “ridiculous” and invited foreign diplomats and media to the airport on June 24, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. local time, for an inspection tour of the airport. . The Transport Minister also said he was in communication with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to refute the claims.

This controversy erupted against a backdrop of increased tensions and repeated exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Rumors of an imminent intervention by Israeli ground forces in southern Lebanon to target rocket launchers firing at Israel have prompted several countries to issue travel warnings for Lebanon.

Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) is Lebanon's only international air gateway. In 2023, it welcomed 7.1 million passengers.