THE CEDARJET PAGES
By Wassim Chemaitelli
MEA TIMETABLE AND CEDARJET MAGAZINE, WINTER 1980/81.
This document is based on MEA's schedules timetable eff winter 1980/81 N°31, and on the 4th issue of the Cedarjet inflight magazine published during the same period. During this period, MEA was able to maintain its pre-war opeartions level. Hope, as always, guided MEA's decision to order Airbus A310 for the modernization of its fleet. Events with the ongoing war in Lebanon will catch up with MEA however, first with the closure of BEY for 22 days in April and May 1981, and the year later with the disastrous effects of Israel's invasion of Lebanon. But in December 1980, all hopes were still permitted...
The following table summarizes the timetable contents
for flights departing from BEY.
| Flight number | Flights per week | Routing | Traffic rights |
| ME 201 | Daily | Beirut-London /Heathrow | |
| ME 211 | Daily | Beirut-Paris/Orly | |
| ME/SR/AF 213 | 1 | Beirut-Geneva-Nice | |
| ME/SR 215 | 3 | Beirut-Zurich-Frankfurt | |
| ME/TU/IB 223 | 2 | Beirut-Tunis-Madrid | |
| ME/SR 225 | 2 | Beirut-Geneva-Copenhagen | |
| ME/SR/IB 227 | 1 | Beirut-Geneva-Madrid | |
| ME/AZ 231 | 6 | Beirut-Rome | |
| ME 235 | 2 | Beirut-Milan | |
| ME 247 | 2 | Beirut-Istanbul | |
| ME 251 | Daily | Beirut-Athens | |
| ME 261 | 3 | Beirut-Larnaca | |
| ME 265 | 2 | Beirut-Ankara | |
| ME 277 | 1 | Beirut-Lagos-Monrovia | |
| ME 279 | 1 | Beirut-Kano-Abidjan | KAN-ABJ-KAN |
| ME 304 | Daily | Beirut-Cairo | |
| ME 306 | Daily | Beirut-Cairo | |
| ME 312 | Daily | Beirut-Amman | |
| ME 322 | 4 | Beirut-Baghdad | |
| ME 364 | 2 | Beirut-Jeddah-Aden | JED-ADE-JED |
| ME 368 | 3 | Beirut-Jeddah | |
| ME 374 | 2 | Beirut-Jeddah-Khartoum | JED-KRT-JED |
| ME 402 | 6 | Beirut-Kuwait | |
| ME/GF 418 | Daily | Beirut-Abu Dhabi | |
| ME/GF 424 | 2 | Beirut-Dubai-Rasalkhaymah | |
| ME/GF 428 | 2 | Beirut-Dubai | |
| ME/GF 434 | Daily | Beirut-Bahrain-Doha | |
| ME/GF 438 | 3 | Beirut-Dubai-Muscat | |
| ME 442 | 6 | Beirut-Dhahran | |
| ME 502 | 2 | Beirut-Benghazi |
All Flights operated with Boeing 707/720 equipment. Joint flights:
ME/IB = Iberia BEY-MAD-BEY
ME/SR= Swissair BEY-GVA-BEY and BEY-ZRH-BEY
ME/AZ = Alitalia BEY-FCO-BEY
ME/AF= Air France BEY-NCE-BEY
ME/GF= Gulf Air between Beirut and : Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai,
Muscat, Ras Al Khaymah.
MEA's fares and tariffs in 1981. 1USD = 4.5 Lebanese Lira (L.L) at that time.
MEA had thus maintained the bulk of its operations, with daily flights to London, Paris, Italy (Rome and Milan), Switzerland (Zurich and Geneva), Athens, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Bahrain, Doha as well as a twice daily rotation to Cairo. Awaiting the delivery of the Airbus A310, MEA's fleet consisted of 16 Boeing 720s, 3 Boeing 707s and the 3 Boeing 747s which where then in lease with Saudia.
The Boeing 720 was truly MEA's workhorse in 1981. Photo : MEA postcard.
During the same period, MEA's inflight magazine announced the Airbus A310 order, and included eclectic reports on skiing in Lebanon, tourism in Jordan and ultrasound frequencies, in Arabic, English and French, as well as the centerfold good quality flight routing maps.
Flights to Europe and North Africa
Flights to West Africa
Flights to the Middle East and the Red Sea region.
The documents on the visit
to the maintenance facility in February 1981, as well as that on the
Airbus
A310 can complete the image one can have of MEA during this period.
The Israeli invasion in 1982 and the collapse of the Lebanese economy after
1984 will significantly curtail MEA's operations. Still, maintaining this
level in such difficult conditions and in Lebanon's 8th year of war is
certainly an achievement MEA staff can rightfully be proud about forever.