After 41 years of restrictions, Lebanon anticipates return of direct flights to the US

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke executive orders imposing restrictions on air transport with Lebanon.

In a statement published by the Lebanese presidency on its Facebook page on Saturday, Aoun said the decision signals confidence in the measures taken by the Lebanese state to ensure the safety of civil aviation and protect air traffic movements to and from Beirut, as well as to enhance the security of flights connecting Lebanon with countries around the world.

President Aoun expressed his appreciation for this step, hoping it would contribute to strengthening air transport and facilitating communication between Lebanon and the world, and serve as a basis for further cooperation between Lebanon and the United States in various fields, according to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

On September 30, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an order revoking four previous executive orders issued in 1985, 1992, 1998, and 2007, which had formed the basis for restrictions on operating flights to and from Lebanon.

The U.S. administration considered that these restrictions were no longer necessary to ensure the protection of aircraft from unlawful seizure, and directed the Department of Transportation to implement the revocation immediately and to rescind any regulations or orders inconsistent with it. The order was published in the Federal Register on October 5.

The core restrictions dated back to 1985, following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847, which resulted in the death of a U.S. Navy diver.