The departure hall of Beirut International Airport. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
Travelers queuing up at the airport gate, an insufficient number of scanners, closed counters, and lengthy formalities.
Beirut International Airport has come in for a lot of criticism in recent days, with the arrival of the high tourist season. Reacting to this criticism, the airport's management claims to have recently increased its staffing levels to cope with the influx of travelers.
Jihad*, a Lebanese businessman based in the United Arab Emirates, travels to and from Beirut Airport twice a month. In a phone call with L'Orient-Le Jour, de deplored the "lack of staff who delay every formality" as well as "the negligence and lack of seriousness of the employees, who often sit doing nothing."
"The queues are interminable, sometimes stretching right up to the airport gate. You have to wait at least 90 minutes to complete the formalities on the outward and return journeys. What's more, the airport only uses a few security gates and scanners, which delays all passengers," lamented Jihad.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the acting Director General of Civil Aviation, Fady al-Hassan, denied any slowness in administrative procedures and assured that staffing levels were increased in recent days.
Passenger numbers at the airport reached 2.5 million at the end of May, compared with 2 million for the same period in 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of 25 percent, according to the latest official figures.
Influx of people
"There are certainly a lot of people at the airport at the moment, but that's normal in high season. The number of agents from the Internal Security Forces and General Security has recently been increased," added Fady al-Hassan, without offering further details.
Built in 1998, the airport's current single terminal is designed to handle 6 million passengers per year. This capacity has regularly been exceeded since 2013, according to airport figures, with a peak of 8.8 million passengers in 2018. This year, 7.2 million passengers are expected.
In March, caretaker Transport Minister Ali Hamiyeh was forced to abandon a controversial airport extension project after the contract was granted to an Irish company without going through the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, causing an outcry.
Lebanon's economic crisis, which has been raging for more than three years, had repercussions on the airport's operations and the ability of its employees to maintain a presence, given the sharp depreciation of their salaries.
Fully booked flights this summer
Despite the crisis, the high season looks promising this year.
According to Rima Mekkaoui, Director of Public Relations at Middle East Airlines, "all incoming flights to Lebanon [for the summer] are fully booked."
This situation is likely to complicate work at the airport.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Jean Abboud, the president of the Association of Travel and Tourism Agents in Lebanon, believes the delays reported by passengers at Beirut International Airport are due to the airport's lack of staff.
"[The airport] doesn't have enough staff and, at times, there can be three or four planes arriving at the same time, so the employees are overwhelmed. The Civil Aviation Authority has promised to take the necessary measures to relieve congestion at the airport this summer," Abboud said.
On Monday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced a series of measures aimed at easing the management of the summer tourist season. It remains to be seen whether these measures will be sufficiently effective for Beirut Airport.
*First name has been changed.