Lebanon's aviation revolution starts in the North

Lebanon is set to welcome its first domestically registered airline since 1969, as start-up Mada Airways prepares to launch scheduled commercial services from the country's north, ending more than half a century of aviation monopoly, according to L’Orient-Le Jour.

The carrier's emergence follows the expiry earlier this year of an exclusivity arrangement that had granted flag carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) a stranglehold over Lebanon-based commercial aviation since 1969, a deal that had barred other airlines from registering as Lebanese commercial carriers, though foreign airlines were always free to serve the country.

Mada Airways is the sister company of IBEX Air Charter, a private jet and charter operator with bases in Beirut and Congo. The airline is currently awaiting its operating licence and has no announced route network, its planned destinations remain unknown. What is known is that it intends to operate exclusively from Rene Moawad Airport in Qleiaat, in the northern Akkar region.

Rene Moawad Airport is a joint civil-military facility located approximately six kilometres from the Syrian border in northern Lebanon. Named after the Lebanese president assassinated in 1989, just seventeen days after taking office, the airport has long operated well below its potential, handling only a few thousand passengers annually.

Its rehabilitation - currently underway as part of a broader government push to reduce Lebanon's dependence on a single international gateway - could transform it into a genuine alternative hub for the country's north, a region that has historically been underserved by air transport.

The airport has a single runway of 3,000 metres long, with an extra 250 metres from each end, and 45 metres wide with an extra 2 metres from each side. The runway, originally built for military use, has undergone test landings and meets technical requirements for commercial operations, though additional systems such as navigation aids, runway lighting, and air traffic coordination mechanisms are being installed.

The Beirut Airport Problem

The push to develop Rene Moawad Airport takes on added significance given the controversial location of Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport. The airport sits in the southern suburbs of the capital, a zone that falls within Hezbollah's sphere of influence and control. This reality has long raised security concerns among international carriers and governments, and has added urgency to Lebanon's efforts to develop alternative aviation infrastructure.

Facing competition for the first time in over five decades, MEA is moving to defend its market position. The flag carrier plans to launch a low-cost subsidiary, Fly Beirut, with services expected to begin in 2027 using an initial fleet of Airbus A320s.

Lebanese expatriates, who have long complained about MEA's relatively high fares, will be hoping that genuine competition finally delivers what decades of monopoly never could: affordable air travel to and from their country.