UAE travellers cancel trips to Beirut amid violence

As the security situation continues to deteriorate in Lebanon, travellers from the UAE are cancelling their trips.

Karim Haddad, a Lebanese national living in Abu Dhabi, has not been able to visit his parents in Hamra, Beirut, since August. Ravindranath K / The National

ABU DHABI // Travellers are cancelling trips to Beirut as the security situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate.

Travel agents confirmed a number of passengers were reluctant to travel amid the unstable political environment, which has gotten worse over the past few weeks.

“I wasn’t even thinking about going to Lebanon because of the political situation and the security threat,” said Karim Haddad, a 32-year-old Lebanese in Abu Dhabi. “You have a party that is controlling the airport road so, whenever they feel like it, they can close it and we get stuck there.”

Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned against travelling to Lebanon following a series of bombings in the capital.

On Sunday, the US embassy in Lebanon strongly urged its citizens to exercise extreme caution and to “avoid hotels, western-style shopping centres and any public or social events where US citizens normally congregate, as these sites are likely targets for terrorist attacks”.

The mission also issued a warning against travelling there “due to safety and security concerns”.

Mr Haddad said: “When we go to Lebanon, we like to go out. The chances of us being in the wrong place at the wrong time are higher than anybody else.”

His parents live in Hamra, in the heart of Beirut, and he has not visited since August.

“I try to avoid going but I have to see my parents eventually,” he said. “The situation is worse now, so we’re planning to get them to move to the US.”

He is not alone. John Zeidan, a 27-year-old Canadian in Abu Dhabi, cancelled his plans to visit Beirut at the end of the month.

“The situation deteriorated in recent weeks and, when someone goes on holiday, they want to visit different sites,” he said. “Seeing that even the centre of Beirut is dangerous, I had to reassess the need for my trip.”

After spending a couple of weeks in Beirut, Tarek Saidi, a Lebanese resident of Dubai, said the warnings were “a must, given the current situation”.

“You can never know when and how the next attempt will take place,” he said. “One has to be always cautious and try avoiding any sort of unnecessary trips within the city.”

Although Mr Saidi’s trip was not cut short, he said he felt a sense of uneasiness among the residents.

“It doesn’t give you any reassurance about what is yet to come,” he said. “I will think twice before considering Lebanon as a destination but will still visit if duty calls.

“Lebanon will always be home and if we Lebanese expats give up on it, then what’s left?”

Alex T, a Swiss-Lebanese in Dubai, said he would take extra precautions during his visit this weekend.

“I thought about it but my significant other lives there so it is worth taking the risk,” he said. “I’m a bit worried because it’s frightening but as long as you’re careful, it should be fine.”

Middle East Airlines confirmed it had received a few cancellations in the past week.

“The few Lebanese that are going to Lebanon now have cancelled,” said Hussein Hareb, a travel agent. “This is because of the unstable situation.”

Al Rais Travel Agency said it had received some cancellations from Dubai.

“A family of four, two frequent-flyer business travellers and another passenger have cancelled,” said Amin Haji, a travel consultant.

“This is affecting our business because it is reducing our day-to-day sales, so we are losing thousands by the end of the month.”

He said that while passengers had confirmed their seats, they refused to travel.

“We are expecting more cancellations in the coming weeks,” he said. “It happens a lot with Beirut.”

A travel management company, ITL World, said it received one cancellation from Dubai last week.

“It’s a cause of concern among passengers,” said Kazim Ali, the operations manager. “Cairo and Istanbul also had cancellations recently and we are expecting more from Beirut because people don’t like travelling where there is disturbance.”