With flights across the eastern Mediterranean repeatedly scrubbed amid the ongoing Israel‑Iran conflict, Lebanese and Cypriot tour operators are dusting off an old idea: reaching Beirut and Tripoli by sea.

In recent days, billboards and social‑media ads in Cyprus have begun touting weekly cruises that would sail every Monday from Larnaca and Limassol to the Lebanese ports of Beirut and Tripoli, returning on Fridays. Fares of up to €3,000 have been quoted; a premium fueled by war‑time jitters, the closure of several regional airports and a spate of last‑minute flight cancellations.

Sea links between the two neighboring countries are hardly new. In 2009, Lebanon’s then‑transport minister, Ghazi Aridi, inaugurated a pilot route from Jounieh, 20 km north of Beirut, promising to expand the marina into a Mediterranean cruise hub able to host ships carrying 2,000 passengers. The price tag was put at about $35 million, but the project stalled.

A fresh blueprint followed in 2016. Backed by a $70 million estimate, it envisaged a new, fourth basin and a 3‑kilometre breakwater that could berth three “mega‑cruise” ships of up to 5,000 passengers. Only 15 billion Lebanese pounds (then roughly $10 million) was ever disbursed before Lebanon’s financial collapse froze construction.

For now, the only vessels leaving Lebanese shores are private yachts from the nearby Dbayeh marina, not from Jounieh itself, municipal councillor Fadi Fayyad told Annahar.

“These are small, licensed boats with very limited seating,” he said. “Demand soared after the latest security flare‑ups, but only a handful of yachts got clearance. That scarcity pushed prices higher. The Jounieh port is not involved; it’s strictly a private‑sector workaround.”

Fayyad, who has championed a modern passenger terminal for more than a decade, notes Jounieh already houses offices for General Security and Customs, but both are bare‑bones.

“In 2016 we fixed the air‑conditioning and bathrooms, but the departure hall is still unusable,” he admitted.

Talks with the security agencies have produced a draft plan for an automated booking system and cargo scanner. “Outfitting those two offices is all that’s missing,” he said. “Once the public‑works minister signs off, a high‑speed ferry could dock tomorrow.”

Under the revived proposal, 250‑seat ferries would make the Larnaca–Jounieh run in about four hours. Cyprus welcomes roughly three million tourists a year, many of them year‑round sun‑seekers.

“Jounieh is a gateway to Baalbek, Lebanese cuisine, mountain resorts; demand would be strong,” Fayyad argued. “With airspace at risk, passengers landing in Beirut on MEA could sail home. Tickets would be affordable and could salvage our summer season. We need Jounieh open yesterday.”

Industrial conglomerate INDEVCO has already secured preliminary approvals for a smaller Cyprus–Jounieh service, according to Fayyad, but even that awaits security upgrades. His larger “dream,” consisting of a full‑scale cruise terminal able to host 3,000‑passenger liners, would likely require a build‑operate‑transfer (BOT) concession.

“The state is broke, but a private operator could finance the build and hand it back after a set number of years,” he said. “Jobs, tourism, hard currency: why keep missing these opportunities?”

With newly elected President Joseph Aoun pledging to cut red tape, Fayyad hopes the project can finally escape Lebanon’s administrative maze.

“In a regional crisis, a small, functional port could keep tourists from being stranded when the skies close,” he said.