The flow of travelers at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport experienced a remarkable boost in June, as it registered a record high since the beginning of this year and arguably one of the highest in years.
It increased by over 22 percent compared to June 2022, with a total of 708,970 passengers compared to 580,787 passengers in June of the previous year. The number of arrivals to Lebanon increased by more than 25 percent, reaching 427,854 arrivals.
In June, the daily flow of visitors exceeded 10,000, and even 20,000 visitors on certain days. The daily passenger traffic through the airport, including arrivals and departures, exceeded 30,000, bringing the airport’s activity back to pre-2019 levels.
The airport activity in June 2023 was distributed as follows:
Travelers:
The number of arrivals to Lebanon in June 2023 increased by 25.68 percent, reaching 427,854 passengers (compared to 340,427 arrivals in June 2022). The number of departing passengers also increased by 17 percent, reaching 280,366 passengers. However, the number of transit passengers decreased by 16.48 percent, totaling 750 passengers. The total number of passengers passing through the airport in June amounted to 708,970.
Flight Activity:
The total number of flights operated by national, regional and international airlines using the airport during June 2023 amounted to 5,492 flights (an increase of 20.75 percent compared to June 2022). Among them, there were 2,749 arrivals to Lebanon (an increase of 21 percent) and an increase of 20.46 percent in departures from Lebanon. By the end of June, marking the completion of the first half of 2023, the total number of passengers that went through the airport since the beginning of the year amounted to 3,185,959 passengers, compared to 2,568,797 in the first half of the previous year 2022, indicating an increase of 24 percent.
During the first half of 2023, the number of arrivals to Lebanon increased by 25.37 percent, reaching 1,637,760 passengers, while the number of departures from Lebanon increased by 22.80 percent, totaling 1,545,043 passengers. Additionally, the number of flights rose by 18.94 percent, amounting to 26,764 flights to and from Lebanon.
