Number of passengers at Beirut airport up 38.9 percent in August 2025

BEIRUT — The number of passengers at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport for arrivals, transits and departures reached 4,802,038 travelers between January and August 2025, compared to 4,420,213 in the same period last year, an increase of 8.63 percent.

In August, 929,815 passengers used BEY, an increase of 38.9 percent compared to the same month in 2024, although this level is almost identical to August 2023, before the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hezbollah (915,085 passengers.)

Of these, 397,517 passengers arrived in Lebanon that month, a rise of 60.25 percent compared to August 2024 (248,049 passengers), while 532,274 passengers departed, up 26.43 percent over August 2024 (420,978 passengers).

In terms of air activity, the airport recorded a total of 6,634 flights in August 2025, a rise of 24.81 percent compared to the same month the previous year. Specifically, the number of inbound flights to Lebanon increased by 24.87 percent to 3,318 flights for the month, while the number of outbound flights rose by 24.75 percent year-on-year, reaching 3,316 flights in August 2025.

Most airlines had suspended their operations in Lebanon during the war that broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in October 2023, leaving Middle East Airlines (MEA) as the only carrier operating in the country for several months.

Flights to and from Lebanon, and consequently activity at BEY, dropped drastically during summer 2024 following intensified Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Afterwards, several airlines, including Air France, remained cautious in response to the volatile security situation in the months that followed— even after a cease-fire took effect at the end of November 2024. They later gradually resumed flights to and from Beirut.