After Trump’s decision, when will direct flights between Lebanon and the US resume?

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

From Ronald Reagan in 1985, through George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, to George W. Bush in 2007, a series of presidential directives barred U.S. airlines from operating flights to Lebanon. 

The restrictions remained in effect until 2026, when President Donald Trump revoked the ban through another presidential order, fulfilling a promise he made to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun during their meeting in July.

But when will direct flights between Lebanon and the United States resume?

The process will take time, but progress is being made along two parallel tracks.

The first involves revising a bilateral aviation agreement. According to available information, talks are expected to take place in November on the sidelines of International Civil Aviation Organization meetings in Montreal between Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. 

The discussions will build on earlier virtual meetings that resulted in a draft agreement being submitted to Lebanon, which approved it.

The agreement is expected to establish the framework for resuming flights, including which U.S. airlines are willing to operate routes to Lebanon and how many flights could be scheduled.

The second track, which is essential for flights to resume even if an agreement is in place, concerns aviation safety.

Sources at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport say the current focus is on strengthening the role of Lebanon’s civil aviation regulatory authority and enhancing its capacity to issue the regulations needed to protect the sector and oversee aviation safety.

This was highlighted during an expanded meeting requested by the ministry, bringing together all civil aviation stakeholders and the World Bank to seek assistance in assessing existing gaps.

Once the regulatory authority’s readiness has been confirmed, the process can move to a security assessment to be conducted in coordination with joint Lebanese-American committees.

If all these steps proceed without obstacles, direct flights between Lebanon and the United States are not expected to resume for approximately another year and a half.

However, the process has moved beyond a political decision and toward practical steps to rebuild trust between Lebanon and the United States in the aviation sector.