BEIRUT: With strong winds and torrential rain ripping through Beirut, several planes were forced to land in Cyprus Tuesday night before eventually arriving at Rafik Hariri International Airport several hours behind schedule.
Rafik Hariri International Airport was closed on two separate occasions Tuesday evening after storm “Zina” caused winds of at 90 km/h, toppling billboards and trees across the city.
Bassem Tabbara, a passenger on a Royal Air Maroc flight, said that his plane circled over Beirut “for a long time” amid heavy turbulence before being forced to land at the Larnaca International airport in Cyprus.
Tabbara said that the aircraft, along with two Middle Eastern Airlines planes and a British Airways plane, waited on the tarmac in Cyprus for just over an hour before heading back to Lebanon.
A source at Rafik International Airport said he did not know how many flights were rerouted to Cyprus because of the storm.
While tempers are known to flare on grounded planes, Tabbara said that the passengers were patient and amiable, walking up and down the aisles and sharing food with one another before the plane took off again.
“Everyone was very friendly. Some had bought food and cookies at duty free in Morocco which they opened and shared with everyone on the plane,” said Tabbara.
The plane, scheduled to land in Beirut around 9:30, finally touched down at Beirut International Airport at 12:45 a.m.
Weary passengers were met with a rush at the baggage claim and long Customs lines.
A recording playing Wednesday on the Middle Eastern Airlines call center said that all flights “are operating normally as per schedule.”
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