Recent statistics showed a spike in the number of travelers traveling through Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Lebanese people might be delighted to hear that the number of travelers in May 2022 increased 69% compared to May 2021.
Statistics also showed that the first five months of 2022 also had an increase in passengers compared to 2021.
1,988,000 people traveled through Beirut Airport from January 2022 to May 2022. This number represents an 89% increase compared to the same period of 2021, in which only 1,050,000 passengers were recorded.
The number of planes flying to and from Beirut Airport also surged this year, compared to last year. 4096 flights were recorded since the start of the year, which represents a 46% increase compared to last year.
These flights were almost equally divided between arrivals (2052 flights) and departures (2044 flights).
Experts expect the number of passengers to further increase in the coming months with the start of the summer season and the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Moreover, the first week of June already saw a 45.41% increase in passengers compared to the first week of June 2021.
Lebanese economists have seen this as an opportunity for Lebanon since the money coming from tourists will help ease the ongoing crisis.
As such, the prime minister, the minister of interior, and the minister of tourism in the current caretaker government visited the airport on Wednesday, June 15th. After a tour of the airport, all three officials assured Lebanese expats that they are ready to welcome them.
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