If one were to attempt to gauge the progression of Lebanon’s economy from the 1950’s until today, one would do well to observe the trials and tribulations of the region’s first all cargo airline that ebbed and flowed with the country’s fortunes. Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA) started out as the brainchild of Lebanese entrepreneur Mounir Abu Haidar in 1953. In 1949, Abu-Haidar reportedly gave up a career in medicine to take up a job as a junior clerk at Saudi Aramco. Working his way up the corporate ladder, Abu-Haidar eventually became the head of transportation at Aramco and was assigned the task of providing food and equipment for oil prospectors in the countries now know as the GCC. Having identified the need for air transportation to service the expansion of Saudi Arabia’s energy behemoth, Abu-Haidar used his contacts at Aramco to obtain a letter of intent from the company to
