Check your flight timings carefully before departing or arriving at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) as the airport currently operates in two different local time zones. Social media users have posted pictures and videos of clocks and signs at Lebanon's main airport that display two different times.
Several religious communities' perspectives on setting the clocks back an hour for daylight savings time on March 26, 2023, lie at the heart of this uncommon predicament, which impacts the entire nation and not just the airport.
🇱🇧🤨 Attention si vous prenez l’avion à l’aéroport de Beyrouth.
— air plus news (@airplusnews) March 26, 2023
Pour satisfaire tout le monde, l’aéroport a choisi d’utiliser deux horaires 😂
⏱️Hier, le Premier ministre démissionnaire du Liban avait décidé sans explication de retarder le changement d’heure. Une partie du pays… pic.twitter.com/eouUfD8qrm
The issue arose after Prime Minister Najib Mikati declared that the nation would delay the implementation of daylight saving time until April 21 three days before the scheduled time shift. Although no explanation for the choice was provided, it has been seen as a support for the nation's practicing Muslims because it would allow those who fast throughout Ramadan, which takes place from March to April, to break their fasts an hour sooner.
Leaders of the nation's other communities opposed this surprising move, questioning its constitutionality and asserting that the customary procedure to get cabinet approval had not been followed. The nation is currently de facto in two time zones at once due to the inability to reach a settlement. All itineraries will be advanced by one hour, according to Middle East Airlines (MEA), the national airline of Lebanon, however, on April 21 they will all revert to their regular times. Flight schedules for all other international airports the airline flies to are unaffected by this change; it only applies to departures and arrivals at Beirut Airport.