October 31, 2026
The Ministry of Energy and Water issued an official response to the statement of the Lebanese Air Transport Association (UTA), rejecting the accusations leveled against it regarding the cutting of electricity to Rafic Hariri International Airport as a result of non-payment of bills owed to the Electricité du Liban.
The Ministry expressed its regret for what it described as “fallacies and fabrications,” stressing that cutting off electricity was not an arbitrary or punitive measure, but rather a forced step that came after repeated demands over a period of weeks and months directed by the Minister of Energy and Water, Joe Al-Saddi, and the Board of Directors of the Electricité du Liban to the relevant authorities to pay the financial arrears.
The Ministry explained that the airport, like any other public utility, is obligated to pay for the energy it consumes, stressing that collecting taxes and fees does not exempt it from its financial obligations towards the Electricité du Liban Corporation, and that securing financing to cover any deficit falls on the consuming party and the guardian ministry and not on the Electricitété du Liban or the Ministry of Energy.
The Ministry concluded by stressing that its crisis is not with the airport as a vital facility for the national economy, but rather with evading financial responsibilities, stressing that commitment to paying bills is a basic condition to ensure the continuity of electrical supply to the airport and other facilities, institutions and citizens.
On the other hand, the Lebanese Air Transport Association had criticized in a previous statement the step of cutting off the power, considering that it caused confusion and losses to a vital sector, and pointing out that the treatment of financial dues should have been done through coordination between the Ministries of Energy, Finance, and Public Works and the concerned authorities, not through cutting off the power, warning of the repercussions of repeating this procedure on the airport’s work and its connection with the outside world.
