Plane marked with 'Tel Aviv' lands in Beirut despite Lebanon not recognising Israel
Plane marked with 'Tel Aviv' lands in Beirut despite Lebanon not recognising Israel
Here’s what happened when an Ethiopian Airlines plane was spotted landing in Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport with an imprint of ‘Tel Aviv’.
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Ethiopian Airlines said it was customary to imprint its aircraft with the name of the first airport it landed at after purchase [Getty]
An Ethiopian Airlines plane was forced to cover up the words "Tel Aviv" marked on its aircraft after it touched down at Beirut's international airport on Thursday due to Lebanon not recognising Israel.
Security at the airport flagged the aircraft, which had the registration number ET-AXK, after spotting the sign which was reportedly in small font and difficult to spot from a distance, Lebanon's directorate general of civil aviation reported.
Ethiopian Airlines said it was customary to imprint its aircraft with the name of the first airport it landed at after purchase, and had not noticed the detail until the aircraft arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Lebanon and Israel are still technically in a state of war, with Beirut and other Lebanese cities subject to Israeli aggression over the past decades.
This led the Lebanese aviation directorate to ask for the Tel Aviv marking to be concealed before taking off from Beirut and cautioned the African airliner against using Israel-related logos or prints on aircraft bound for Lebanon again.
Israel has launched a series of strikes on Lebanese towns and villages since cross-border fighting between the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel began on 8 October.
Last November, there were reports of an alleged increase in US and other foreign military flights to airbases in Lebanon.
According to Al Akhbar, at least nine planes were reportedly spotted landing at either in Beirut airport or Hamat airbase with more than one flight departing from Israel's Tel Aviv.
The Lebanese army had since responded that it was not a cause for concern and that the movement of military aircraft to the Hamat airbase, in northern Lebanon, was a routine procedure to supply the military with weapons.
Lebanon has not recognised Israel since it was declared as a state in 1948 and the two have disputed borders, particularly on the Shebaa Farms, a small strip of land claimed by Lebanon but occupied by Israel since 1967.
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