QLAYAAT, Lebanon — Lebanon launched the rehabilitation of its second airport on Saturday, in preparation for an opening within months, at a time when the country faces constant fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanon currently has one international airport, in south Beirut next to Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold that has been subjected to heavy Israeli bombardment during successive wars.

The new airport, in the town of Qlayaat in Lebanon’s northernmost province of Akkar, near the border with Syria, has been used as a military base by the Lebanese army for decades.

Lebanese Minister of Transport and Public Works Fayez Rasamny inaugurated the airport on Saturday “after more than fifty years of promises, delays and waiting.”

“Today we are moving from promise to execution,” Rasamny said, adding that the goal is for the airport to be “operational in a few weeks” to serve travelers to Mersin, Istanbul and Dubai, adding there are plans to expand the destinations to Saudi Arabia, Cairo and Athens at a later stage.

Lebanon is also in contact with low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair and Pegasus, he said.

Rehabilitation is due to begin next week and will take at least three months, going through a pilot phase before the airport is put into full service in November 2026, according to local media.

The work is being carried out by the Lebanese company Sky Lounge, which on Saturday posted on its Instagram page a........

© The Times of Israel