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Trump authorizes direct US flights to Lebanon after 4-decade halt

Direct flights between the United States and Lebanon have not been operational since 1985.

Rosaleen Carroll
Rosaleen Carroll
Jul 21, 2026
Middle East Airlines aircraft sit on the tarmac at Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport on April 10, 2026. Smoke from an Israeli strike still lingered in the air as a plane from Lebanon's national carrier took off from Beirut airport, which has stayed open despite the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah. The country's only international passenger facility, whose departure boards are now largely red with cancellations, is located on the Mediterranean coast at the edge of Beirut's southern suburbs. (Photo by Anw
Middle East Airlines aircraft sit on the tarmac at Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport on April 10, 2026. — Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that US airlines would be allowed to resume direct flights to Lebanon more than four decades after such service was suspended.

“After meeting with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, who has done a remarkable job working to transform his Country, I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Direct flights between the two countries have been suspended since the United States banned Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines, in 1985 following the hijacking of two Trans World Airlines planes at Beirut International Airport by Hezbollah members.

The announcement came after a landmark meeting between Trump and Aoun at the White House on Tuesday. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said that Lebanon has been “a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated, and treated with respect that it deserves.”

Aoun is the first Lebanese head of state to visit the White House since 2009. 

Following the roughly one-hour meeting between the leaders, Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs Massad Boulos told reporters that the two had "good chemistry," describing the meeting as "very productive."

This is a developing story and will be updated.