Bahrain's Gulf Air to Resume Flights to Lebanon Sunday

Bahrain's national carrier, Gulf Air, said on Tuesday it will resume flights to Lebanon suspended in March after Hizbullah slammed the kingdom's crackdown on mainly Shiite protesters.

The carrier said flights will resume on Sunday as the peak season of travel from the Gulf region to Lebanon starts.

"We are delighted to be able to resume our flights to Beirut. This is great news for our customers. Beirut has always been a popular destination on our network," said Gulf Air chief executive officer Samer Majali in a statement.

Bahrain's two carriers, Gulf Air and Bahrain Air, suspended flights to Lebanon, Iran and Iraq as Shiite communities condemned the Sunni-ruled kingdom's crackdown on protesters demanding democratic reforms.

Bahrain also accused Hizbullah of having links to the month-long protests that rocked the kingdom. The Shiite party denied the charge, insisting it was offering only moral support to the demands of the protesters.

In addition to canceling flights from Bahrain to Lebanon, the Gulf kingdom advised its citizens not to travel to the fellow Arab state.