On Friday, Maura Connelly, the US Ambassador to Lebanon, made an unusual
visit to the offices of the Middle East Airlines (MEA), the Lebanese national
carrier.
Connelly’s visit had not been declared in advance, and for reasons that are
not clear, the media was not informed.
Observers surmise that this may have been a security
precaution. The diplomat, accompanied by a security team, toured the carrier’s
facilities, hangars and operations center, where they were briefed on sensitive
matters that they are not entitled to know about.
Connelly’s visit to MEA’s offices was yet another breach of diplomatic norms in
Lebanon. It also coincided with the incident that has preoccupied the Israelis
over the past few days, involving Hezbollah’s drone “Ayoub” which flew over
occupied Palestine for some time before it was downed by the Israeli air
force.
Nevertheless, observers believe the timing of the visit was not chosen
deliberately to coincide with the incident, since it was determined in advance.
However, they said, the Americans exploited this to send a security team with
the ambassador, rather than a delegation of economic experts.
At any rate, the visit is the result of efforts by the Minister of Public
Works and Transport Ghazi al-Aridi, and CEO and General Manager of MEA, Mohamad
al-Hout. These two officials were in Washington around 10 days earlier, where
they met with officials from the US Department of Transportation (DoT).
Aridi and Hout requested the resumption of air transport relations between
Lebanon and the United States. One expert familiar with the issue said, “Hout
went seeking US recognition of Beirut Airport’s ability, and the adequacy of its
safety standards, to receive American airplanes and fly MEA planes to the United
States.”
There has been an American ban on MEA since the hijacking of a TWA American
passenger plane at Beirut Airport in 1985. Following this incident, the airport
was put on the US terror list. MEA flights were banned from US airports and
American airliners no longer flew to the airport in Lebanon.
The expert revealed that Hout took detailed files on MEA and Beirut airport
to the DoT in America, including information on public safety standards at the
airport, the technology used in this regard, as well as current capabilities and
other related information. The DoT officials were satisfied with the information
Aridi and Hout provided about the Lebanese carrier and the airport.
Nevertheless, the Americans had several conditions for the resumption of air
transport relations. A list of their requirements was put forward, in order to
help Beirut airport conform to US public safety standards and for MEA flights to
be approved and received in the US. MEA has joined the global airline alliance
SkyTeam, and enforces the safety standards of the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO).
Hout returned immediately to Lebanon after the visit, to discuss the demands
with the acting director general of the Civil Aviation Authority. The two men
then agreed on the need to do whatever it takes to fulfill the conditions and
standards of “American public safety” at the airport in Beirut.
Hout’s efforts to appease the Americans did not stop here; he decided to take
additional steps. Hout invited the ambassador to visit the MEA offices and
examine firsthand the operations and standards at Beirut International Airport,
in preparation for resuming direct flights between Lebanon and the United
States. This happened at a private dinner attended by Connelly and several
Lebanese figures including Riad Salameh, the Governor of the Bank of Lebanon,
which owns a majority stake in the airline and supervises its board and CEO.
This is how it was decided that Connelly would visit MEA’s facilities, nearly
a week ago. On Friday morning, Connelly came in a convoy of six SUVs to the MEA
headquarters. A US delegation came with her, which Hout claimed to his
associates was an economic team seeking to assess the financial feasibility of
resuming flights between Lebanon and the United States.
For about an hour, Hout held a meeting in his office at the company's
headquarters with Connelly and the delegation accompanying her. Afterwards, Hout
took Connelly and the delegation on an inspection tour of the airline
facilities, with a focus on the security operations at Beirut airport.
It soon became obvious to MEA staff and specialists that the delegation was
not of an economic nature, and that its concerns were mostly about security,
essentially concerning removing Beirut International Airport from the US terror
list.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic
Edition.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
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