Beirut Airport Closed

The protests taking place in Beirut, Lebanon since yesterday morning have risen to a level of violence. The army is taking measures to ensure and preserve safety, however this does not indicate the end of hostility.


The protesters lead Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport to closure. The primary road leading to the airport has been closed with sand spills and tires burning. Although a few passenger flights landed yesterday, the passengers were only able to leave the airport with great difficulty.


Beirut International Airport is the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon. It has 3 runways: 1 asphalt, 2 concrete, with the longest being close to 11,000 feet long. Other airports in Lebanon are Rayak Military Airport (OLRA) which has a single non-concrete 3000m x 45m runway, and Kleyate Rene Mouawad Airport (OLKA/KYE) which has a single concrete runway of the same size. Although Rayak cannot handle commercial aircraft, KYE should be able to accommodate any aircraft that BEY (Beirut International Airport) can.



The alternatives to BEY at the time include DAM (Damascus, Syria), ALP (Aleppo, Syria), AMM (Amman, Jordan), and LCA (Larnaca, Cyrpus). Larnaca is highly unlikely since the Beirut port is also not accessible, and DAM is also unlikely due to hostility along the Damascus - Beirut route. ALP is a viable possibility although the road will take no less than 4 to 5 hours and the situation does not confirm Lebanese - Syrian cooperation to make this operation easy. AMM is a last resort and will not be used unless ALP, KYE and DAM are completely eliminated as option. Although KYE could be an alternative, the required airport services may not be available and the passenger terminal may not be in an appropriate condition.

So far no decisions have been made and nothing announced. Until further notice, BEY remains closed and the solution for incoming passengers remains unknown. Anyone who desperately needs to make it to Beirut will have to fly into ALP with Syrian and catch a ride from there.

Hopefully the situation will settle soon and BEY will be operational again. Also, preparing KYE and enhancing it with the necessities for commercial use is something that should be considered in the future as situation like this may arise in the future, and BEY being the only usable airport could be very damaging in more serious situation, such as the 2006 war on Lebanon.



This is far from the first time Beirut International Airport is closed. Throughout the civil war it was raided by various military teems including Isreali Commandos and American Marines. As the above photo shows, U.S. marines were stationed at the airport, or very close to it. Also at one occasion the majority or aircraft at the airport where burned, which lead Air Liban to sell its rights to MEA, these right being all that remained of it with its fleet being completely destroyed.

MEA also suffered major losses however the airline was back on its feet quickly after the civil war. Its history includes 747s, 707s, 720s, and many other aircraft with its current fleet consiting of 3 A330s, 6 A321s, and orders for 4 A330s to replace the current ones and add one, and 6 A320s.


Among the unique destinations served by Middle East Airlines are John F. Kennedy Airport of New York as well as Sao Paolo, Brazil and Sydney, Australia. Some of the current expansions include daily flights to London's Heathrow airport as of March 30th and daily flights to Riyadh starting early summer/ leat spring. Also the summer destinations include Nice, Copenhagen, Kiev, and a few others. These destinations are being launched with the fleet expansions, and a new livery is also being introduced.


Also Beirut International Airport was once the base for the world's largest cargo airline: Trans Mediterranean Airways, generally known as TMA of Lebanon. This airline has since ceased operations and although there are plans for it to start passenger services under the title TMA Leisure by acquiring 150 seat aircraft, nothing has come of this.


Further discussion on the current issue concerning Beirut Airport's closure are available in the following aviation discussions forum: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/3972840/