Lebanon
Minister Faiz Rasmayni cites unfinished security and legal requirements as key delays for Qlayaat Airport, with MP Sajee Attaya noting property transfer issues. Despite a target of year-end operation, officials stress that full readiness is essential before any official launch.

An-Nahar wrote: However, reasons prevent the start of operations at Qlayaat Airport on the scheduled date, summarized by Minister of Public Works and Transport Faiz Rasmayni to "An-Nahar" as the necessity of completing security and legal aspects. He clarifies: "We are currently in the final stages of preparation for reopening President Rene Moawad - Qlayaat Airport, and work is underway in parallel to complete various requirements."
He refers to meetings with representatives of departments, agencies, and concerned parties to "assess what has been accomplished and identify remaining steps, within weekly follow-up covering legal, security, technical, operational, and logistical aspects according to standards adopted in civil aviation."
As for the opening date, he confirms that "the airport will not open before ensuring its full readiness, especially security-wise and logistically. Our goal is to begin operations before the end of the year, but an exact date cannot be determined before the necessary readiness for operation is completed."
Therefore, the start of Qlayaat Airport's work according to the Minister of Public Works will be before the end of this current year, but another date for the opening is being circulated, which is after one month according to what MP Sajee Attaya, head of the Public Works Committee, mentions, attributing the causes of the delay to "legal procedures including the transfer of ownership from the army to civil aviation, in addition to administrative matters." Attaya indicates that weather conditions contributed negatively to finishing some procedures, considering that "a thirty-day delay after waiting for thirty years is not a disaster."
But practical and experimental steps to start operating the airport manifested in receiving not just one plane but two planes carrying technicians and employees from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, and the goal was to conduct tests to ensure the suitability of the runway, its compliance with conditions, and its readiness to receive civilian aircraft of different sizes.



