American owned airlines have been prohibited from flying to Lebanon since 1985, when kidnappings and hijackings were more common than tourists at Beirut International Airport. But now Delta will become the latest American owned airline to open an office in Beirut, joining United Airlines and American Airlines. Jimmy Eichelgruen, Delta’s director of sales for the Middle East and Africa, explained the new Beirut office is part of Delta’s global expansion. “Delta was predominately a domestic airline and it has only been in the past four years that it has grown to [have a 50-50 split between] domestic and international flights,” he said. “The expansion of Delta has been phenomenal. Only two years ago the airline did not fly to the Middle East at all.” Delta currently flies direct to Dubai, Kuwait, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Delta has 37 weekly flights to the Middle East, which is more than
