The arrivals hall at Beirut airport. (Illustrative photo by Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The number of passengers using Rafic Hariri International Airport (RHIA) – arrivals, transits and departures – reached 2,409,387 passengers by May 2025, compared to 2,292,764 passengers during the first five months of 2024, an increase of 5.1 percent, according to RHIA data. By comparison, the first quarter of 2025 had recorded a 1.3 percent year-on-year decline.
"This is the highest number of passengers recorded in May since 2019. This is promising and suggests that the number of arrivals in Lebanon will gradually increase with the start of the summer season" and "the start of summer holidays," BRHIA management stated in a press release. This notable improvement comes as Lebanon is counting on a massive return of its diaspora and foreign tourists to revitalize the tourism sector ahead of summer.
In May, 560,050 passengers used RHIA, compared to 507,892 passengers in May 2024, an increase of 10.3percent for the month. Among them, 299,700 arrived in Lebanon in May, a 12 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024, while 260,322 passengers were departing, 8.4 percent more than in May 2024. On the other hand, the number of transit passengers continued to decrease in May, registering only 28 passengers, a decline of 86.7 percent compared to May 2024.
Regarding air traffic, the airport recorded a total of 4,607 flights, a 7.3 percent increase compared to May 2024. Specifically, the number of incoming flights to Lebanon increased by 7.1 percent to reach 2,304 flights in May 2025, while the number of outgoing flights from Lebanon increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year, reaching 2,303 flights in May 2025.
Most airlines had suspended their activities in Lebanon during the war that broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in October 2023, leaving MEA as the only operational company in the country for several months. Subsequently, several airlines, including Air France, remained cautious due to the volatile security situation in the months that followed – even after a cease-fire was implemented at the end of November 2024. These companies eventually resumed their flights to and from Beirut gradually.
In early June, the ultra-low-cost airline Wizz Air Abu Dhabi completed its very first flight connecting the Emirati and Lebanese capitals, just over two months after its official announcement.
