In an article published by Emirati media outlet The National, Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced it is considering the "establishment of a low-cost airline to serve destinations in the Middle East and Europe."  "We are considering preparing, in the next two years, the launch of a low-cost airline [...] starting with four aircraft," said the airline’s president, Mohammad al-Hout. "This depends on our ability to find available planes; the searches are ongoing," he added.  According to him, the low-cost carrier would be a wholly owned MEA subsidiary but would operate independently. After studying the market, he said MEA observed demand for low-cost flights to Europe and the Middle East, citing “for example Germany, Denmark and Egypt.” The announcement comes as the national carrier is often criticized for its high fares during peak season and as Lebanon recently began welcoming flights from low-cost airline Wizz Air.  Meanwhile, Hout noted that MEA currently has an order book of nine aircraft: six are expected to be delivered in 2026, two in 2027, and one in 2028. Among them are four Airbus A321XLRs, which “can fly for nine hours, allowing us to open new markets, especially in Africa,” he said.  In addition, Hout said the construction of a second terminal at Beirut's international airport is under consideration. The master plan, developed by Dar al-Handasah, envisions a terminal with a capacity of 5 million passengers to be built through a public-private partnership, he said.  The plan includes 11 jetties — eight for single-aisle planes and three for wide-body aircraft — with an estimated total cost between $400 million and $500 million.  “We believe the first phase of this project will suffice for the next 10 to 15 years,” Hout said, adding, “If stability improves and traffic increases, a second phase is planned to accommodate up to 8 million passengers.”  The terminal, he said, “will be equipped and operated very modernly, with cutting-edge technologies allowing passenger processing without needing their passports, as seen in other new airports.” The plan is finalized, and the next step is to launch a call for tenders.  Hout’s announcement follows the resumption of passenger traffic this year, facilitated by the cease-fire , which has strained Beirut's airport’s current capacity, originally designed for 6 million passengers annually.  Earlier this week, the airport announced its best May since 2019, with 560,050 travelers. The total number of passengers passing through Beirut's airport since the start of the year has exceeded 2.4 million. In this context, MEA expects annual growth of 10 to 15 percent in the second half of 2025.    (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: L'Orient Today