Qatar Airways will resume direct flights to and from Lebanon's capital Beirut tomorrow despite an Israeli air and sea blockade imposed on the country in July, an airline spokeswoman said today.
"We will operate daily flights to Beirut tomorrow. Flight 422 will leave Doha at 12:30 local time and arrive at 15:35 Beirut time," Salam al-Shawa said.
Asked if the airline had contacted Israeli authorities before deciding to fly directly to Beirut, Shawa said: "We were in touch with the Lebanese authorities and we received approval from them to fly directly to Beirut".
She added that it would be the first direct flight to Beirut by any airline.
Lebanese and Israeli authorities could not be immediately reached to comment.
Israel has kept an air and sea embargo on Lebanon after its 34-day-old war with Lebanon's Hizbollah ended on August 14th.
Israel says the blockade was aimed at preventing Hizbollah rearming.
Last month, it allowed Lebanon's Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian to fly to Beirut on condition that all flights pass through Amman first for security reasons.
All ships and aircraft require Israeli permission to use Lebanese waters and airspace.