US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has directed his administration to allow all US airlines to operate direct flights to Lebanon, following his meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun.

US flights were suspended in 1985 following the hijacking of a TWA flight during Flight 847 from Athens to Rome, which was forced to land in Beirut. A US Navy diver was brutally killed during that 17-day crisis.

Before resuming flights to Lebanon, US officials will need to conduct a comprehensive security review of Beirut airport and ensure its safety. It remains unclear whether US airlines will be willing to resume their flights.

Major US airlines—American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines—have suspended their flights to Tel Aviv, citing security concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration said it 'looks forward to working with airlines and government agency partners to implement the President's directives and support the safe return of flights to Lebanon.'

The US State Department currently issues a travel advisory warning Americans against traveling to Lebanon, citing escalating tensions in the Middle East. In February, the US government ordered its non-emergency personnel and their family members to leave Lebanon due to security risks.

Trump ordered the Department of Transportation to lift a ban on US passenger air services to Venezuela in January, after the US arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation earlier that month.

Service resumed in late April after seven years with an American Airlines flight from Miami to Caracas.