Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced Tuesday it will keep five of its 24 airplanes in Türkiye as a precaution in case of conflict. Still, the decision has not affected its operations and all flights continue as normal, an airline spokesperson said.
Israel has exchanged fire with Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Palestinian resistance groups for the last 10 days amid its indiscriminate attack on the Gaza Strip.
The MEA spokesperson said the planes had been moved to Türkiye's Istanbul Airport over the weekend and would remain there until further notice, while the remaining 19 planes in the fleet were operating normally.
In line with this decision, the airline sent four Airbus A321neo and one Airbus A330 type aircraft in its fleet to Istanbul Airport for security reasons, as per Demirören News Agency (DHA).
Middle East Airlines alerted its staff to be on standby in case they needed to implement an emergency plan to remove further planes from the airport, the spokesperson said.
"It's a plan in case of emergency. God willing, we won't need it," the spokesperson told Reuters.
A number of Israeli and Lebanese residents have begun to move out of their homes amid fears escalating clashes at the border could become a second front in a wider Middle Eastern war if Israel's expected invasion of Gaza prompts a strong response from its regional foes.
The Lebanese national carrier had removed all of its planes from Beirut airport at the outset of the monthlong 2006 war, which killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers. The airport was later bombed and ceased to function.
