According to the request from Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab, Middle East Airlines (MEA) just retracted their decision to accept payment only in US Dollars as of Monday, February 17th.
The Middle East Airlines stated that they are going to hold meetings later to discuss the details and reasons for this decision in order to find mechanisms and solutions that take into account both the interests of citizens and the reality of the company.
The decision of MEA, which was reported late on Saturday, drew strong criticism from the Lebanese people.
Former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), called it an illegal move, and his party announced that he will file a lawsuit against the Middle East Airlines on Monday, February 17th.
Bassil tweeted in that concern, saying: “For a long time, I have been demanding to reduce the price of MEA trickers but I have not gotten any response yet, this is called monopolizing.”
He further said: “Today, after refusing payments in anything but dollars, this is called a violation of laws and I demand the movement [FPM] to move with the notice. We did not receive a response about money transfers abroad from the Central Bank governor. The bank is in favor of the state and not the opposite way around.”
