Lebanon's transport minister: flights only allowed to take off towards the west

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Transport Minister Ali Hamie said on Tuesday that flights were only allowed to take off towards the west, following Iran's launching of a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, the minister said that Lebanese airspace was closed to air traffic for a two-hour period.

"After coordinating with the Cypriot aviation authorities, planes are allowed to take off towards the west until all developments and data are evaluated to take the appropriate decision that ensures safety of air traffic in Lebanese airspace," Hamie said on X.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeil; Writing by Enas Alashray; editing by Mark Heinrich and Chizu Nomiyama)