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Global Watchdog Flags Multiple Safety Issues At Beirut Airport
Concerns raised relating to air-traffic control must be urgently addressed, says the report.
An inspection of the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut has revealed inadequate safety measures, many of which require urgent action.
The report, carried out by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), highlights issues concerning in-air navigation services (ANS) that must be addressed with “utmost urgency”. The problem areas include air-traffic control, navigation, communication, and meteorological services.
ICAO conducts regular audits on the air infrastructure of member states to assess their capability to maintain adequate safety systems.
As a signatory to the Chicago Convention, Lebanon must comply with any prescribed ICAO standards and recommended best practices.
In the event of an immediate safety concern, ICAO can “red flag” a country over any breach of international aviation regulations. Bhutan, Russia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are examples of such states.
While the governments of red-flagged countries are not legally obliged to make changes after a negative audit, the results serve as a warning to inbound airlines and travelers from other nations. In extreme cases, authorities may ban flights originating from offending countries from entering their airspace.
According to the audit, “ATC staff shortage is a serious safety issue for the Beirut Airport, which could have critical repercussions for aviation in Lebanon”.
Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East
The report stressed it was of “crucial importance” for Lebanon’s civil aviation authorities to begin the “recruitment and retention of appropriately qualified and experienced ATS staff” as “a matter of utmost urgency”.
Another major concern related to an absence of procedures to keep obstacle registries up to date and to verify the functionality of navigation systems. “Lebanon shall ensure that identified safety issues are resolved in a timely manner,” the report demanded.
The lack of air-traffic controllers has long been an issue for Lebanon but has intensified due to the country’s severe economic crisis. The national currency has now lost 97% of its value, pushing 80% of the population below the poverty line.
News
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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