Most flights are expected to leave Rafik Hariri International Airport Saturday as scheduled, despite Russian "military drills" over the Mediterranean Sea, an airport source told The Daily Star. Kuwait Airways flights 501 and 502, scheduled to fly between Kuwait City and Beirut Saturday and Sunday respectively, are the only flights that have been cancelled specifically because of the "drills," the source said. Kuwait Airways said in a statement Friday that it was suspending all flights to and from Beirut "as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety" of its passengers. Lebanon's air traffic is expected to experience disruptions over the next three days after airport authorities received an official communication from the Russian navy requesting the country shut down its airspace. Air traffic from "Beirut will continue in a normal fashion," the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement following communications between Lebanese, Russian and United Nations officials. However, some airlines said they have found new routes that will not be affected by the Russian drills that they will begin using Saturday. Lebanon's main carrier Middle East Airlines said that its planes would take off at scheduled times Saturday, although some flights to the Gulf and other Middle Eastern countries would take longer than usual due to the change of routes. Air France said its Saturday flight from Beirut to Paris would be delayed 50 minutes, the National News Agency said. Emirates Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Algerie and Air Morocco cancelled their flights to and from Lebanon scheduled for Saturday, according to the Beirut airport flight schedule, however it was unclear if those flights were canceled specifically because of the Russian "drills." Lebanon's Transport Ministry also announced that it has set up an "emergency cell" to take special measures over Saturday, Sunday and Monday to ensure the safety and continuity of all aircraft flying to and from Beirut. Planes leaving Beirut's airport have to travel West over the Mediterranean. Israeli airspace to Lebanon's south is off limits because the two countries are still technically at war, while Syrian airspace to the north and east is also a no-go for passenger jets because of the raging conflict there.
