Air France thinks landing in Damascus is safer than landing in Beirut ....

and then asks passengers to check their wallets in case they have to tap them for the extra fuel needed to take them to their intended  destination.

From CBSNews
An emergency layover in Syria's capital    was bad enough. Then passengers on Air France Flight 562 were asked to open their wallets to check if they had enough cash to pay for more fuel.
The plane, heading from Paris to Lebanon's capital, diverted amid tensions near the Beirut airport on Wednesday. Low on fuel, it instead landed in Damascus, the capital of neighboring Syria, where a civil war is raging.

An Air France spokesman explained Friday that the crew inquired about passenger cash only as a "precautionary measure" because of the "very unusual circumstances." Sanctions against Syria complicated payment for extra fuel.

He said Air France found a way to pay for the fill-up without tapping customer pockets — and apologized for the inconvenience. The airline had never resorted to such a request before, he said....
The plane took off for an overnight layover in Cyprus then landed safely in Beirut on Thursday.....