The chairman of Lebanon’s flag carrier Middle East Airlines Sunday voiced concerns that the ongoing conflict in Syria, and internal divisions over the new electoral law, could impact the company’s profits further in 2013. “We hope that 2013 will not be the most difficult for MEA because the situation is not comforting. What is happening […]
MEA denies its planes targeted by missiles in Syria
Middle East Airlines has denied a media report that two of its planes were targeted by surface-to-air missiles (SAM) while crossing Syrian airspace, a statement from the company said late Monday. In its statement, MEA said the company had held the necessary talks with the relevant agencies
Lebanon MEA employee disciplined over racist remark
An official said Tuesday that an employee of Lebanon’s national airline MEA was fired after a passenger complained in a social media campaign that the worker humiliated travelers from the Philippines at the Beirut airport and told them over the loudspeaker, “Filipino people, stop talking.”
Lebanon’s MEA interested in buying a stake in Cyprus Airways
Cyprus’s government has given green light for Cyprus Airways Ltd. to increase its capital and authorized negotiations for the sale of an unspecified stake of the state-run carrier to investors. The government reaffirmed a previous “decision to raise the share capital of the company and approved the participation of the government as main shareholder in […]
Passengers stage mutiny aboard Lebanese airline
Passengers ‘mutinied’ on a flight from Heathrow after a thunderstorm left them waiting for take-off for almost seven hours. Trouble erupted after a Beirut-bound Middle East Airlines plane, with 230 passengers aboard, had to abort a 5pm take-off on Thursday, having already missed its original 1pm departure slot.
Pilots’ syndicate and MEA reach agreement
The Pilots’ syndicate and the Middle East Airlines (MEA) administration reached an agreement over the pilots’ salary demands, National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday NNA said that Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi will announce the agreement during a press conference on Wednesday. The MEA pilots protested last month the company’s decision to […]
Mea chief threatens to sue the pilots
Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines Chairman Mohammed al-Hout threatened on Thursday to sue MEA’s pilots who are on a 24-hr strike, describing their act as “illegal and arbitrary.” At a press conference, Hout revealed that the strike costs MEA $800,000 a day. He accused the pilots of failing to respect an agreement signed in 2008 in […]
MEA pilots go on strike
Pilots at Lebanon’s national carrier are striking at Beirut International Airport to press for demands for improved working conditions. Some 170 Middle East Airlines pilots began their 24-hour strike at 3 a.m. (0000GMT) Thursday. The strike by the pilots’ union forced the cancellation of 23 international flights to Mideast, European and African destinations and affects […]
Aoun slams Lebanon’s MEA, calls it a corruption icon
MP Michel Aoun criticized the Lebanese national carrier MEA following Change and Reform bloc’s meeting :MEA is a corruption icon in Lebanon as we don’t know if it’s a public administration or a private company. We don’t know who runs it and how it’s run; how people are penalized and fired from their jobs; and […]
Lebanon’s MEA will begin the process privatization
The head of Lebanon’s national airline says the company will begin the process of a partial privatization this year. Middle East Airlines chairman Mohammed Hout said Thursday that he expects the carriers shares to begin trading on the Beirut stock exchange by next year once the process for launching the initial public offering is completed.