Middle East Airlines

Middle East Airlines was founded on May 31, 1945 — just two years after Lebanon's independence from French Mandate — initially as a small private Lebanese airline. MEA launched services with de Havilland Dragon Rapide biplanes on routes between Beirut and neighboring Arab capitals. The airline grew through the 1950s and 1960s as Beirut became the cosmopolitan financial and cultural hub of the Arab world — the "Paris of the Middle East" — and MEA benefited from the city's status as the Arab world's premier gateway. Pan American Airways acquired a stake in MEA in the late 1950s, bringing American management expertise and commercial connections.

The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) — one of the most devastating conflicts in modern Middle Eastern history — caused enormous damage to MEA's operations, fleet, and infrastructure, yet the airline managed to maintain some international services even during the worst periods of conflict, a testament to Lebanese resilience. The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the destruction of parts of Beirut airport created further disruptions. MEA joined SkyTeam in 2012. The Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020 — one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history — damaged Beirut airport and MEA's facilities while the COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously collapsed international travel, testing the airline to its limits.