President Donald Trump reversed a decades-old ban Tuesday on U.S. carriers flying to Lebanon after telling the country’s leader in an Oval Office visit that it had been badly treated.
“I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Hopefully, other Countries will do the same. Enjoy!”
Direct U.S. flights to Lebanon have been banned since 1985 after a militant group linked to Hezbollah hijacked a Trans World Airlines flight traveling from Athens to Rome. The hijackers detoured the TWA flight to Beirut, held it for 17 days and murdered U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem.