Rayak Air Base

Rayak, Lebanon

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Rayak Air Base

Rayak, Lebanon

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OLRA

ICAO

3018 ft

Elevation

TravelerPulse profile

Historic Lebanese military air base in the Bekaa Valley.

Opened

1930

Location

Rayak, Lebanon

Rayak Air Base is a military airfield located in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, near the town of Rayak in the Zahle District. It is operated by the Lebanese Air Force and serves primarily as a military installation rather than a civilian airport. The base has historical significance dating back to the French Mandate period, when it was established as one of the earliest airfields in the Levant region. It played an active role during various conflicts in Lebanon's turbulent modern history. Rayak Air Base is not open to commercial passenger traffic and has no scheduled civilian airline services. It remains an active facility for Lebanese Air Force operations, including helicopter and fixed-wing military aviation.

Getting to & from

The base is accessible by road via the Beirut–Damascus Highway, with Rayak town situated approximately 50 kilometres east of Beirut.

Notable facts

›Established during the French Mandate era, making it one of the oldest airfields in the Levant.
›Operated exclusively by the Lebanese Air Force as a military installation.
›Located in the Bekaa Valley at an elevation of approximately 895 metres above sea level.
›Has no IATA code, reflecting its non-commercial military status.
›The airfield was historically significant during World War II and subsequent regional conflicts.

Wikipedia

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Encyclopaedia

Rayak Air Base is Lebanon's first air base and the place where the Lebanese Air Force was born on June 1, 1949. In the 1950s, the RAF sent its own instructors to help the Lebanese Air Force. British families accompanied instructors. The base had connections with Air Force bases in Cyprus. It was an idyllic location situated very close to a vineyard which now supplies wines throughout Europe, including London. Located in the middle of the Bekaa Valley to the east, between the towns of Zahlé and Anjar, it symbolizes the Lebanese Air Force, and is home for most of the aircraft types that have seen service and the final resting place for almost all retiring planes.

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