Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines mulls Cyprus Airways investment

Lebanese national carrier Middle East Airlines is looking at taking a stake in unprofitable Cyprus Airways Ltd., Chairman Mohamad el-Hout said today.

“We are still in the early stages of the examination,’’ Hout said by phone, declining to provide details on the talks or say how much of a stake is under discussion “We feel there is real potential for us and we are studying it seriously.”

MEA dominated international passenger traffic in the Middle East before Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990. The airline, founded in 1945, is owned by the Central Bank of Lebanon, which rescued it from bankruptcy in 1996.