Airline increases Beirut flights

Emirates Airline will increase the number of its flights between Dubai and Beirut next month to meet summer demand.

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DUBAI // Emirates Airline is to increase the number of its flights between Dubai and Beirut next month to meet summer demand, the company said yesterday. With thousands of expatriates returning home for the summer, the company said it was adding the journeys to meet customer demand during one of the route's busiest months. "Demand for travel to Beirut from Dubai and the Emirates network is usually very high during summer," said Khalid bel Jaflah, the airline's vice president of commercial operations. "In addition to Lebanese expats heading home to spend time with their family, large numbers of UAE residents and GCC nationals also find Lebanon an attractive destination for their summer holidays." Emirates, which operates 17 weekly flights between Dubai and Beirut, is adding a total of 18 more from Sunday until August 23. Traditionally one of the busiest times for travel to Lebanon, the summer months have coincided with violent unrest throughout the country in recent years, crippling the tourism industry. In July 2006, a 34-day war broke out between Hizbollah paramilitary forces in Lebanon and the Israeli military. The following summer, Fatah, the Islamic military organisation, clashed with the Lebanese armed forces. mchung@thenational.ae