NNA – In an issued statement on Saturday, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh’s press office responded to the recently circulated news on social media that planes were exposed to bullets at Beirut airport, one of which led to a hole under the cockpit of a Greek plane, stressing that the activation of public facilities for the advancement of Lebanon cannot be achieved in this manner.

“There is a lot of disregard for Lebanon's reputation, at a time when we are desperately in need of advancing its facilities," the statement said.

"For transparency purposes and in order not to rush into any denial or confirmation, we waited for the technical report from the concerned authorities at the airport, which assured that the aforementioned plane was not exposed to any bullets. To further confirm, we wrote to specialized agencies in America, who asserted, as stated in their report sent today, that there was no bullet in said plane,” the statement affirmed.

“As for the news about the Qatari plane’s accident, it was revealed that a piece of metal was stuck in one of its tires without resulting in any significant risks, and this may occur at any airport in the world,” the statement underlined.

The Public Works Minister concluded his statement by emphasizing that “Rafic Hariri International Airport is not the right place to settle political scores, and this is not how we ensure Lebanon’s rise, by targeting its facilities which we seek to activate, advance and increase their revenues, in order to contribute to fortifying the sovereign decision of Lebanon.”

===========R.Sh.