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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”.
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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
Noon And Yango Switch On Robot Deliveries In Dubai
The rollout folds autonomous couriers into noon’s rapid-delivery network as the UAE tests everyday autonomy.
Noon and Yango Group have signed an agreement to put autonomous robot deliveries into commercial use in Dubai, turning Yango’s earlier pilots into a daily service for noon Minutes orders. The launch in Sobha Hartland is the first full integration of Yango Autonomy’s electric robots with a major e-commerce network in the region, with wider deployment planned across Dubai and, later, other GCC markets.
Residents can choose a robot at checkout, track it in the app and unlock its compartment once it arrives. The hardware runs on Yango’s AI navigation and routing stack, which plans paths, avoids obstacles and yields to pedestrians. The units had already covered more than 1,500 kilometers during previous Dubai pilots, a test bed that demonstrated their ability to operate in mixed pedestrian environments and dense residential streets.
The rollout adds a contactless option to noon’s last-mile network and is positioned as extra capacity during peak periods. “Partnering with Yango Group lets us bring a future-ready delivery option straight to our customers,” said Ali Kafil-Hussain, noon’s Chief Business Officer. Noon has used Minutes to set rapid-delivery expectations in UAE cities; autonomous units now slot into that same high-frequency model.
Regulatory clearance from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority underpins the move. The RTA authorized Yango’s robots to operate on public walkways and in neighborhoods, smoothing the shift from controlled trials to commercial work. Dubai has framed autonomous mobility as part of its smart-city buildout, and the partners lean on that agenda to accelerate integration.
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For Yango, the partnership is an anchor for its autonomy platform in the Gulf. Islam Abdul Karim, Yango’s Middle East regional head, said the aim is to make autonomous delivery an “everyday, reliable service” for UAE communities. The company views operational data from early districts as the basis for scaling into more communities and, eventually, cross-border rollouts.
The move lands as Gulf retailers search for faster fulfilment and lower-emission logistics. Autonomous couriers remain a small share of last-mile delivery, but Dubai’s approvals and early usage data give the partners a clearer path to turn pilots into durable infrastructure.
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