Trump Directs U.S. Airlines to Resume Direct Flights to Lebanon

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is directing his administration to permit all U.S. airlines to resume direct flights to Lebanon, ending a suspension that began in 1985 after the hijacking of TWA Flight 847. Trump made the announcement after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office.

Aoun’s visit marked the first by a Lebanese president since 2009. ” The announcement aligns with efforts to implement a framework agreement Lebanon and Israel reached on June 26. That deal outlines Israeli troop withdrawals from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

The U.S. State Department said Monday that operations had begun in three pilot-zone villages: Froun, Srifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbieh. The Lebanese army began deploying troops in Zawtar al-Gharbieh on Tuesday.

Israeli forces said they would adjust their posture in one pilot area to allow Lebanese troops to operate. However, the Lebanese military reported that Israeli troops fired warning shots near the deployment zone. Israel said the shots responded to Lebanese soldiers entering an area outside the pilot zone; Lebanon disputed that account and said its forces remained inside the designated area.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Aoun on Sunday and said Washington would continue to support full implementation of the agreement. Rubio added that Lebanon “will never be fully at peace” until the Hezbollah issue is resolved.

Direct flights between the United States and Lebanon were halted by President Ronald Reagan’s administration in 1985. Lebanon’s government took office in early 2025 on a platform that included disarming non-state groups. The country’s leadership has condemned Israel’s military campaign, which has killed more than 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others.