BEIRUT: Thousands of travelers descended on Beirut airport Monday causing scenes of chaos as some 345 airplanes departed Lebanon. Pictures of huge queues of travelers went viral on social media as passengers jostled shoulder-to-shoulder in the departure lounge.
A number of factors led to the [high traffic Sunday night and Monday], Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos was quoted as saying Tuesday by the state-run National News Agency.
Fenianos said the massive turnout at the airport was due to three things: The record number of religious pilgrims [leaving for] hajj, the record number of expatriates [leaving Lebanon back to their country of residence] and the delay by the Saudi Embassy of issuing hajj visas, adding that the airport was only built to have a capacity of 4 to 5 million passengers [annually].
The minister played down the culpability of the airport staff in causing the queues, comparing the pandemonium to a car accident. If there is a road with four lanes and suddenly it becomes two after an accident, it is normal that there will be traffic.
He added that there were only six body scanners at the airport, which all passengers were required to go through before boarding.
During a news conference following a tour of the airport Tuesday, the minister said that the 345 that departed Monday was the first time ever that the airport had handled that number of flights, adding that it amounted to over 1 million passengers through the airport so far in the month August alone.
He also called for an extension and renovation of the airport, as it is no longer capable of facilitating such volumes of traffic.
Fenianos said, Rafik Hariri International Airport makes $300 million in revenue annually.
Separately, General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri contacted him to resolve the traffic problem at the airport.
Traffic at the airport increased by 7 percent in the first half of 2017, a source at the airport previously told The Daily Star. From the beginning of January to the end of June 2017, 3.5 million passengers passed through the airport, up from 3.3 million over the same period in 2016.
Last April, the U.S. delivered advanced security equipment to Lebanon to help combat threats. Despite this, the airport is still in dire need of renovation as basic facilities such as bathrooms are often without water and soap.
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