MEA Chairman Mohammad al-Hout and Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO Bilal Ekşi Thursday signed a codeshare agreement for the two carriers in Beirut.
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A codeshare agreement means that MEA and Turkish Airlines will share the same flight, so that a flight for one airline could be operated by the other, expanding the services they offer without additional costs.
The deal will be effective as of May 15.
Al-Hout said the agreement was "important", adding that it is a step forward in strenghtening "economic cooperation between Lebanon and Turkey."
Ekşi echoed similar sentiments, adding that the partnership will "maximize travel opportunities offered to our passengers through our flight networks."
Turkish Airlines operates three daily flights to the Lebanese capital from Istanbul, and MEA operates two daily flights from Beirut.
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In March, Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos signed an agreement with the MEA chairman prepare the necessary studies for the expansion of Rafik Hariri International Airport.
“The airport can currently accommodate 5 million passengers while the number of passengers at RHIA surpassed 9 million, which necessitates the implementation of such a strategy,” Fenianos said.
