Qatar Aviation Connection to Beirut, Lebanon

After World War II, BOAC had to rationalise its many operations around the world, including the Middle East, all the while try to protect itself from the behemoth coming around the corner in the form of Pan Am and TWA.

BOAC had its fingers in Palestine Airways (Palestine), Misr Airwork (Egypt), Iraqi Airways (Iraq), Middle East Airlines (Lebanon), Eagle Airlines (Iran), Malta Airways (Malta), Aden Airways (Aden - Yemen), Kuwait National Airlines (Kuwait) & Turkish National Airlines.

At the same time, Gulf Air was taking its first strides under the name of Gulf Aviation by Frederick Bosworth.

All the while, BOAC was keen to maintain a foothold in MEA, preventing the Americans from gaining a foothold in it, although it began to loose money.

This allowed the British Government to also sell British Aircraft (Viscounts, Comet 4C) preventing American aircraft (Convair 440s, B707) companies access to a potential lucrative market.

Eventually, its ability to sustain continued losses, forced it and the British Government to withdraw, allowing for other to gain shares in these companies.

As such, by 1967 MEA had acquired a number of Boeing B707s.

Unfortunately, during the Israeli raid on the airport on the 28^th of December 1968 both MEA and Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA) - later merged into one company - lost 14 aircraft including one B707.

At the time MEA was owned by a consortium of companies which included the Qatar Government, and this and Qatar’s constant solidarity with the Arab cause probably explains its presence on a Qatar stamp.

The B707 remained operational with the airline into the 1990s

The image below, shows:

1. The 31^st January 1970 - First Anniversary of admission to the Universal Postal Union - Middle East Airlines Boeing B707.
2. A Middle East Airlines (MEA) timetable, where we can see Beirut as the centre of the connection from Europe to the Middle East, along with same fares for those routes.
3. A cover from Doha addressed to the a BOAC representative in Beirut.

Click to enlarge