This post is now outdated: Check out the latest news on the subject – MEA Decides on Date to Join SkyTeam
It seems we have another casualty in the collapse of the Lebanese government, national carrier Middle East Airlines has delayed its membership with the SkyTeam Alliance:
Lebanon-based Middle East Airlines has postponed plans to join the SkyTeam airline alliance for an undefined period, because of Wednesday’s downfall of the Lebanese government, several people close to the negotiations told Dow Jones Newswires.
The official announcement of MEA joining SkyTeam, the airline alliance led by Air France-KLM (AF.FR) and Delta Air Lines (DAL), was planned for Feb. 8, people familiar said.
It is now uncertain if and when state-owned MEA would join SkyTeam.
Had it gone ahead, it would have been the second airline in the Middle East to join (Saudi Arabian Airlines has recently announced its plans to join in 2012).
Skyteam (CSA ATR-42 tail): SkyTeam special livery that could appear on MEA planes sometime in the future.