Rafiq Hariri International is Lebanon's main airport Global traffic at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut rose by 5 percent in 2012, compared to 2011, official figures have revealed. The news is a welcome positive for the government after a dip in the transit traffic, which fell by 18 percent in termsof passengers, 26 percent for commercial aircraft and 34 percent for private aircraft.
According to the official Department of Statistics report, 5,960,414 passengers travelled through Rafic Hariri International Airport during 2012, compared to 5,654,147 in 2011.
Airport traffic was distributed during the year 2012 as follows:
Travellers: The number of passengers coming to Lebanon increased by 2.84 percent in 2012 to 2,895,218 passengers, and the number of passengers departing from Lebanon rose by 8.53 percent to 3,018,007 passengers. However, the total number of transit flights declined in 2012 by 18.8 percent.
Commercial Aircraft: Commercial airline flights, foreign and national, fell during 2012 by 11.58 percent to stand at 76,982 trips.
Private jets: There was a decline in private aviation, with the total number of trips going down by 26.67 percent to 10,456
Movement of goods: The total amount of goods transported by air through the airport in 2012 reached 84140.518 tons, with an increase of 13.82 percent.
Mail Transfer: The total of the airborne transferred mail reached 770.216 tons, down by 8.35 percent.