In the aftermath of Lebanese national Firas Haidar’s abortive and ultimately tragic attempt to reach Saudi Arabia by hiding in the wheel bay of a Nas Air jet, the issue of security at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport has once again risen to the fore.
 
We say “once again” because the airport, once an optimistic symbol of an ambitious country and one that will be processing over 15,000 arrivals each day during the summer season, is increasingly becoming a murky entity that is by general agreement controlled by officials close to Hezbollah. The conclusion drawn by those who would argue that Lebanon is still run by so-called terror groups or non-state actors is that we cannot be a genuine guarantor of international air travel security while such a status quo exists.
 
These concerns are fuelled by the assumptions that much of the weaponry Hezbollah uses in its standoff with Israel enters Lebanon via a porous airport. These are not difficult arguments to sell. In May 2008 Hezbollah’s network of security cameras positioned in the vicinity of the airport were targeted by the government. The party’s response was swift and brutal. It sent gunmen onto the streets of Beirut in a bloody attempt to topple the government for its insolence.
 
The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet in January of this year also raised concerns. The accident was in all probability – the investigation has not yet published its findings –caused by a technical fault or pilot error. But theories suggesting that an onboard bomb or even a surface-to-air missile had downed the civilian airliner have not advanced Beirut’s reputation.
 
Sunday’s incident demonstrated that even a person with a history of mental problems could breach the perimeter fence and reach the tarmac as a plane taxied for takeoff.  On one level, we must be thankful that a more determined attacker had not perpetrated an outrage, one that could have led to the immediate loss of life and subsequent disaster for Lebanon’s international standing.
 
The head of airport security, Brigadier Wafiq Choucair, offered his resignation on Monday in light of the incident, but it’s too little too late. In different circumstances, his move might have been seen as a remarkable gesture in a culture in which personal accountability counts for naught. But we must question his motives, especially given that in 2008, when his sacking by the government led to national bloodshed, he returned to his post.
 
The government should act, but it probably can’t. The situation at Rafik Hariri International Airport is a microcosm of the current problems facing Lebanon. The airport should not be a private cargo bay, but as long as Hezbollah insists on operating outside the state, pace its cabinet ministers, progress on snuffing out the party’s iron grip on the airport will be limited at best.
 
On Wednesday night we learned from the government that the Ministry of Public Affairs and Transportation is to prepare a complete report on the steps needed to improve airport security and procedures. The previous day, Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said that Interior Minister Ziad Baroud had agreed to form a commission comprising airline representatives, the airport’s head, the head of airport security and other officials to overhaul airport security procedures.
 
We all know that the best way to kill an initiative in Lebanon is to form a committee or a commission. Nothing will come of it, and the name Firas Haidar will fade from the memories of all but his friends and family.
 
The airport brouhaha comes at a time when Hezbollah MPs have objected to the use of the term “terrorism” in the wording of a security agreement between Lebanon and France to fight terrorism funded by money laundering and drugs. But since when has Hezbollah been concerned what anyone thinks of it? Surely the Resistance is bigger than international agreements? The objections are arguably another attempt, in what is becoming a very long list of attempts, to smear international agreements of protocols as instruments designed to undermine Lebanese integrity.
 
And we wonder why the international community still cannot truly take us seriously.