The Beirut International Airport recorded its highest traffic numbers of the year 2024 in the sixth month, both in terms of passenger numbers traveling to and from Lebanon as well as in the number of flights operated by national, Arab, and foreign airlines using this vital facility. This traffic is considered a positive indicator given the circumstances not only in Lebanon but across the entire region, amidst extremely difficult political and economic conditions. The number of passengers traveling through the airport in June almost matched the figures recorded in the same month of the previous year, 2023, with only a very slight decline.
The total number of passengers in June reached 707,201, bringing the overall passenger count at the airport for the first half of 2024 to 2,999,965, compared to 3,185,959 passengers in the first half of 2023, reflecting a decrease of 5.8 percent. Since the beginning of the year until the end of June, the number of arrivals to Lebanon was 1,545,666 passengers, while departures totaled 1,452,996 passengers.
The airport traffic in June 2024 was distributed as follows:
- **Total Passengers**: The total number of passengers using the airport in June was 707,201, almost matching last June's figure of 708,970 passengers (a decline of 0.25 percent). The number of arrivals to Lebanon was 406,396 (compared to 427,854 in June 2023, a decrease of 5 percent). Meanwhile, the number of departing passengers was 300,362, compared to 280,366 in the same month last year, which is an increase of 7.13 percent. The number of transit passengers was 443 (a decrease of 41 percent).
- **Flight Operations**: The total number of flights operated by national, Arab, and foreign airlines using Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut during June was 5,509 flights (an increase of 0.3 percent), including 2,751 arriving flights to Lebanon (an increase of 0.07 percent) and 2,758 departing flights from Lebanon (an increase of 0.5 percent).
