Passengers wait at the Beirut international airport. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Beirut International Airport issued a statement Wednesday inviting all concerned passengers to come review airport surveillance footage after many took to social media to report missing items from their luggage.
“We are surprised that people are resorting to social media, claiming that they have lost their belongings at the airport, instead of coming forward to the airport to check the surveillance cameras,” Fadi al-Hassan, Civil Aviation Director General, told L’Orient Today.
“We have always said that any citizen who comes to the airport can check the cameras, and if we find that one of our employees has stolen from the luggage we will take all necessary measures against him,” he added
In a statement, airport management “called upon any passenger who has lost the contents of his baggage to come to the office of the airport chief or his representative at any time."
The statement promised that passengers could review surveillance footage to confirm the path of their luggage before their bags were loaded or after they were unloaded from the plane.
“Some are resorting to social media to tarnish the image of the airport and Lebanon, just before the summer when the country is expecting many tourists," al-Hassan said.
One social media user shared the story of her mother, who was traveling from Beirut to the United Arab Emirates with critical medication. When the mother arrived at her destination, the medication was reportedly missing from her bag.
مطار بيروت السرقة للمسافرين على عينك يا تاجر pic.twitter.com/mlds8HXTB3
— Saad (@Saad80893605) May 9, 2023
Other valuables, including watches and gifts, were also missing from the luggage, according to the same social media user.
“It’s shameful that this is happening at the airport, especially with Lebanon expecting two million visitors this year,” she said.
Last May, two Bangladeshi baggage handlers working at Beirut International Airport were arrested by the police for allegedly stealing money and valuables out of suitcases.
The arrest followed a complaint filed by a traveler after items worth a total of nearly $4,000 disappeared from his wife's luggage.