Middle East Airlines facts for kids

A Middle East Airlines Convair 990A at London Heathrow Airport in 1970

Middle East Airlines (Arabic: طيران الشرق الأوسط) is an airline based in Lebanon. It flies between the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

History

An MEA Airbus A330-200

Middle East Airlines opened for business on May 31, 1945. It was opened by Saeb Salam, with support from BOAC. MEA's work started on January 1, 1946 with flights between Beirut and Nicosia. Then its airplanes started to fly to Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Cyprus. The company bought two Douglas DC-3 planes in mid-1946.

On September 7, 2006, Israel ended its 8-week long air blockade on Lebanon. A Middle East Airlines plane from Paris flew to the Rafik Hariri International Airport at 6:06 p.m. Lebanese time (3:03 p.m. GMT). MEA resumed its normal flight timetable on September 11, 2006.

Destinations

An MEA Airbus A330-200 at Roissy Airport in France

Middle East Airlines flies its planes to these countries and their cities (since June 2006):

Images for kids

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  A Middle East Airlines Boeing 747-200 in 1984

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  A Middle East Airlines A321neo in the new livery at London Heathrow Airport.

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  A Middle East Airlines Airbus A330-200 taking off at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

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  A Middle East Airlines Airbus A320-200 in the SkyTeam livery landing at Geneva Airport.

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  An MEA aircraft was destroyed during a confrontation between the Israelis and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982

See also

In Spanish: Middle East Airlines para niños