Qleiaat ready for takeoff: First stone laid, first flights expected ‘in about 90 days’

QLEIAAT, AKKAR – After a decades-long wait, Saturday marked a long-awaited milestone for René Moawad Airport in Qleiaat. Political officials, north Lebanon notables, journalists and VIP guests gathered as the public works and transport ministry launched the development and operation phase of what is expected to become Lebanon’s second civilian airport.

Inside the building, the atmosphere was festive and full of hope. Speeches, a zaffeh troupe, dabkéeh music, a cake-cutting ceremony, cocktails and small fireworks accompanied the launch of the project in one of the country’s most neglected and poorest regions — a glimmer of hope in a grim period for Lebanon, as the war between Hezbollah and Israel rages in the South.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny arrived by plane, in a symbolic landing meant to signal the return of civilian air activity to the site after more than three decades of near-total inactivity.

Qleiaat airport, a military base, had briefly hosted civilian flights, but has remained largely unused since the 1990s. It is named after former President René Moawad.

The ceremony, organized by the ministry, marked the laying of the foundation stone and the official launch of the execution phase of the project to develop and operate the airport. The project will be handled by Sky Lounge Services, which won the bid in May to relaunch and rehabilitate the facility.

Initial works to be completed within 90 days

"This project is not only important for Akkar, but for all of Lebanon," Rasamny told L’Orient-Le Jour on the sidelines of the ceremony. "It is an economic project that starts with the airport, but will be followed by many related activities — employment, economic ideas, hotels, cargo and all the connections between the area and its surroundings."

Rasamny said the first flight "should take place after 90 days."

Sky Lounge Chairman Ziad Monla also told L’Orient-Le Jour that rehabilitation works are expected to begin on June 8, with the aim of "completing them within 90 days." A new terminal is also planned, he said, as the airport currently has only one "old and small" terminal.

The first phase of operations is expected to focus on flights to Mersin, Istanbul and Dubai, while other destinations, including Medina, Cairo and Athens, are being studied. The ministry is also seeking to attract low-cost carriers such as AJet, Pegasus and Air Arabia, and is studying possible partnerships with European airlines, including Ryanair via Paphos and Aegean via Athens.

Mohammad Aziz, head of Lebanon’s civil aviation regulatory authority, told L’Orient-Le Jour that no airline agreements have been signed yet, pending a clearer assessment of the airport’s full capacity after rehabilitation. But IBEX, a Lebanese charter company, is looking to convert into a scheduled carrier and operate flights from Qleiaat, he said.

Aziz estimated that the airport could receive around 100,000 visitors in its first year, rising to some 600,000 by the fourth year.

Located around 26 kilometers from Tripoli and roughly six kilometers from the Lebanese-Syrian border, Qleiaat could also serve parts of the Syrian coast. Aziz said Lebanese officials are discussing with the Syrian side ways to allow the airport to function in a model similar to Geneva airport, where access points serve both Switzerland and France.

The ministry’s broader vision is to turn Qleiaat into an integrated economic and logistics platform, with air cargo operations, a specialized cargo village and potential links to the Port of Tripoli, the Tripoli Special Economic Zone and the Rachid Karami International Fair.

The ministry is also working to connect the airport to public transport routes between Beirut and Qleiaat, while rehabilitating the roughly four-kilometer road linking the Abdeh-Arida international highway to the airport entrance.

‘Akkar has waited too long’

For local residents, the project has revived hopes that the area could finally be placed on the country’s economic map.

"This project is very good. We have waited a long time and lived through a lot of poverty and deprivation," Rafaat Danhach, a member of Qleiaat’s municipal council, told L’Orient-Le Jour. "This project puts Akkar back on the map of development, balanced development and economic growth. It brings hope to our families and future generations."

Bakr Mohammad Cheikh, an Akkar resident who lives five minutes from the airport and works as a farmer for a local company, said he hopes the airport will operate "seriously."

"We hope the airport really works, because we would benefit economically and the area would prosper," he said. "The state had completely neglected us." Still, he said he feels more hopeful under the current government.

One local resident, who asked not to be named, struck a more ironic note, saying she hoped the project would create the opportunity she needs "to leave the country."