By Allison LampertJune 3 (Reuters) - Lebanon's aviation regulator has carried out a safety audit of Middle East Airlines as pilot groups raised concerns that crews were being asked to fly close to airstrikes and penalized for reporting safety incidents, letters seen by Reuters show.The audit puts scrutiny on Beirut-based flag carrier MEA, which has kept Lebanon connected through war and financial collapse even as many foreign airlines have avoided large parts of Middle East airspace because of missile and drone risks since the Iran war began on February 28.In a public statement on Wednesday, MEA said it had decided to carry on flying "after acquiring international guarantees that the airport would remain outside the conflict area". MEA, whose fleet of around 20 planes operates in the Middle East, Europe and West Africa, has been praised in Lebanon for continuing to fly and helping to prop up an economy that is more dependent than ever on from expatriates.It said the audit over the last two weeks was "an annual procedure that has long been scheduled and is not related to the aforementioned letter", adding that MEA had not had a single accident in the last 60 years.Earlier, MEA told Reuters it has a strong and proven safety record, and that any flights during military hostilities were conducted based on risk assessments developed alongside Lebanon's government and the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority.Since 2024, multiple Israeli airstrikes have landed near Lebanon's only commercial airport, raising concerns among the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA), a global federation of pilot unions, given the history of civilian aircraft being shot down in or near conflict zones.Concerns have grown as Israeli strikes on Lebanon stepped up this year during a widening conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah."While some may think that flying civilian aircraft and passengers in high-risk and conflict zones during war conditions is heroic, we consider this an unconscionable risk," IFALPA President Ron Hay wrote in a May 12 letter to Lebanon's central bank, which holds a majority share in MEA.The Banque du Liban referred questions to MEA."The son of the chairman of MEA and the son of the chairman of LCAA are both captains at MEA and flew throughout the period," the airline told Reuters.REGULATOR CONDUCTS MEA SAFETY AUDITLCAA head Mohammed Aziz, an air crash investigator, told IFALPA in a May 15 letter that his team would conduct an aviation safety audit on MEA and "engage in a dialogue with MEA to discuss the concerns you stated in your letter."MEA said oversight activity conducted by the LCAA on MEA from May 18 to June 1 confirmed the carrier's compliance with "regulatory and operational safety requirements".Aziz told Reuters a closing meeting with MEA was held on Monday, but the LCAA audit was still being processed, and "we were in the process of mediating" between the pilots and MEA.MEA's public statement on Wednesday said the audit results "refuted" the allegations, but gave no further details.One MEA pilot told Reuters that aviators had a financial incentive to fly since per-flight payments made up a majority of their salaries, which have been slashed due to a Lebanese economic collapse that began in 2019.IFALPA, supported by other aviator groups, flagged cases where pilots reported unintentional errors for the purpose of improving safety, but faced punishment such as being sent for "training", where they lose out on the per-flight payments."We know definitely that pilots have spoken up and there have been actions taken against them," Hay said by phone.MEA said IFALPA's allegations were unfounded and training assignments were in line with regulatory requirements and "should not be misconstrued as disciplinary or retaliatory measures".In its public statement, MEA said that of the 32,000 flights it had operated since the beginning of 2025, four had to be reviewed by the safety and operations unit andfive pilots were sent for additional training flights as a result. It said no such training flights were undertaken in 2026.PILOTS CONTACT PARTNER AIRLINES IN U.S., EUROPEThe safety concerns led pilot groups to contact the SkyTeam airline network alliance, which includes carriers such as MEA, Air France and Delta Air Lines <DAL.N>."If you put your passengers in the plane of a colleague airline then for sure you want to be sure the level of safety is where you want it to be," Dara van Langen, chair of the SkyTeam Pilots Association, said in an interview.Both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) require airlines in their jurisdictions to audit foreign codeshare partners to ensure comparable safety.Air France, which has a codeshare agreement with MEA, said it regularly audits all codeshare partners. SkyTeam and Delta, which has a less extensive interline agreement, said they were aware of pilot concerns and were monitoring the situation, adding that safety was imperative.MEA PAYS CIVIL AVIATION WORKERSIFALPA said it was also concerned that MEA provided payments to LCAA workers overseeing aviation safety.An internal spreadsheet of financial assistance for the month of November reviewed by Reuters showed dozens of LCAA employees received payments from MEA, including three aviation safety workers."If the oversight of your airline is being (partly) paid by your airline," then "you don't want to speak up, do you?" IFALPA's Hay said.MEA said it had provided financial support in coordination with the government to ensure Lebanon's aviation infrastructure functioned after a currency collapse. Air traffic controllers' pay was cut by more than 90% to less than $100 a month, it said.The carrier said its support did not affect the LCAA's "independence, authority, or oversight responsibilities" and auditors and the agency's leaders, including Aziz, did not receive payments.(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Editing by Jamie Freed and Alexander Smith)