Rafic Hariri International Airport

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Rafic Hariri International Airport
Image:BEY.jpg
IATA: BEY - ICAO: OLBA
Summary
Airport type Civil and Military
Operator Middle East Airports Services (MEAS) S.A.L.
Serves Beirut, Lebanon
Elevation AMSL 87 ft (27 m)
Coordinates 33° 49' 15.35" N

35° 29' 18.20" W

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
03/21 12,467 3,800 Concrete
16/34 11,138 3,395 Concrete
17/35 10,663 3,250 Asphalt

Image:BeirutAirport.jpg

Rafic Hariri International Airport is located in Beirut, Lebanon and is the only operational commercial airport in the country. It is the hub for Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines (more commonly known as MEA). It is also the hub for the currently grounded cargo carrier Trans Mediterranean Airways (more commonly known as TMA Cargo), as well as the new start-up charter airline, MenaJet.

Originally the airport was named Beirut International Airport, however was renamed on June 22, 2005, in honour of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri who was brutally assassinated in a huge explosion in Beirut on February 14, 2005 when his motorcade was targeted.

It is the main port of entry into the country along with the Port of Beirut.

The modern terminal is separated into two piers with the main terminal joining the piers. The east pier which opened in 1998 has gates 1-12, and the west pier which opened in 2002 has gates 13-23. In the west pier, next to Gate 13, there is room for a gate that is currently being used for a small cafeteria without a jetway attached. This space can quickly be converted to a gate when needed in the future. The airport has a total of 21 jetway-equipped gates. Gates 2 and 3 are equipped with dual jetways for large aircraft. Gates 4 and 22 are bus boarding gates. The terminal is capable of handling 6 million passengers.

The airport is operated by Middle East Airports Services (MEAS) which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. MEAS conducts all airport operations from cleaning the bathrooms to de-rubberizing the runways. Operations are regulated by the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA), the Lebanese government agency which sets aviation guidelines, safety standards, etc. The LCAA is also responsible for operating the air traffic control (ATC) in the airport as well as regulate Lebanon's airspace.

The airport is home to two ground handling operators, Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) and Lebanese Air Transport (LAT).

Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) is a wholy-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. It provides ground handling services for the national carrier, MEA, as well as most of the carriers serving the airport, including the cargo carriers. MEAG handles nearly 80% of the traffic at the airport.

Lebanese Air Transport (LAT), is a smaller ground handling operator that conducts ground handling operations for a number of carriers serving the airport. LAT specializes in handling charter flights, but do have contracts with a number of scheduled carriers such as British Airways. Once upon a time, LAT was an airline that operated its own aircraft, however this was many years ago.

In addition to ground handling services, both MEAG and LAT offer complete fixed base operator services for private and executive aircraft.

There are a number of aviation-related companies based at the airport such as Aircraft Support & Services (ASAS) and JR Executive.

Aircraft Support & Services (ASAS) specializes in fixed base operator services for private and executive aircraft. In addition, they operate two executive jets which can be chartered to various places.

JR Executive operates a fleet of small propeller aircraft that can be chartered or leased. They also have a flight school to train people how to fly. They also conduct light maintenance on light aircraft and also offer fixed based operator services.

Cirrus Middle East, a member of the German-based Cirrus Group is partnering up with Universal Weather and Aviation to create a fixed base operator and VIP charter service to be launched on October 15 of this year. The company will initially be called Universal/Cirrus Middle East, but will eventually become Universal Aviation Beirut. They aim to become one of the top FBOs in the Middle East and will cater aircraft as large as Boeing 747s.

The airport has one catering company named Lebanese Beirut Airport Catering Company (LBACC).

The airport is the homebase of MidEast Aircraft Services Company (MASCO), an aircraft maintenance provider that specializes in all kinds of maintenance for Airbus aircraft, particularly the A320 and A330 series of aircraft. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. MASCO has JAR 145 approval and as a result can maintain any aircraft registered in Europe. In addition to maintaining MEA's fleet, MASCO currently has a contract to conduct C Checks for Cyprus Airways' A319 and A320 fleet. MASCO does routine line maintenance for a number of carriers serving the airports. They have received a number of awards for their high quality maintenance services.

The airport has a very extensive Duty Free section with a wide array of shops ranging from Lebanese souvenirs to perfumes. Most of the shops are located in the departure zone right after clearing departure customs, however there are a number of shops in the arrival zone as well.

The airport currently has 3 restaurants, but more are planned.

Three airline ticket offices are located in the airport, Middle East Airlines, Air France, and Cyprus Airways.

The airport has a bank operated by Byblos Bank, one of the top Lebanese banks. They have a main branch in the departure level, three stands in the arrival level, aswell as four ATMs scattered throughout the terminal.

The airport has three airline lounges located on the mezzanine level above the Duty Free area in the departure area. The largest lounge is MEA's Cedar Lounge which occupies half of the available lounge space. It's currently ranked as the best business class lounge in the Middle East. Most airlines serving Beirut simply choose to use the Cedar Lounge for their premium passengers which is the reason for the few airline lounges in the airport. The other two lounges are Saudi Arabian Airlines' Golden Lounge and the LAT Lounge operated by the ground handler, Lebanese Air Transport (LAT). Most airlines serving Beirut use the Cedar Lounge, however there are a number who use the smaller LAT Lounge. Saudi Arabian Airlines is the only carrier which uses the Golden Lounge.

Internet access is provided in the airport. There are 15 internet kiosks scattered throughout the departure gates and 2 internet kiosks located in the arrival area. In addition, there is wireless hotspot access covering he departure gates, the arrival hall, as well as the VIP lounges. 30 minute cards may be purchsed for $5 and 75 minute cards may be purchased for $10.

The airport has a large multi-level car park with a total capacity 2350 cars. Part of the car park is currently sealed off and will be opened in the future when needed.

Their are 7 rental car companies in the airport. They are Avis, Budget, Ca Trans, City Car, Europcar, Hertz, and Hala.

At the moment, there is no public transportation to the airport. However, taxis are plentiful and comfortable taxis that are authorized by the airport are parked next to the terminal in the arrivals level and have an airport logo on the side. As these taxis are regulated by the airport authorities, they guaranteed to be honest in their rates. Regular taxis are also available and are located a little farther from the airport, but these are not guaranteed and are to be used at ones own risk.

In 2004, the airport recorded a record 3.35 million passengers. The year 2005 is expected to be slightly lower as a result of the political instability in the country following Rafic Hariri's assassination.

However, plans are already being drawn up to expand the airport by adding 7 more gates, some of which can handle the A380 along with building a modern cargo village. A high-tech private terminal, one of the most modern of its kind, was recently completed and is expected to attract a lot of private charter companies.

On June 17, 2005, the General Aviation Terminal was finally opened. It is located on the northwestern corner of the airport and is one of the most advanced general aviation terminals in the Middle East featuring state of the art facilities. All fixed base operators and VIP charter providers have moved their operations to this state-of-the art terminal.

Code data

Airlines

Passenger airlines operating scheduled flights to the airport:

Libyan carrier, Afriqiyah Airways is planning to serve Beirut in the near future.

Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Australian Airlines have all hinted that they are looking at serving Beirut in the near future.

SriLankan Airlines which used to serve Beirut until some of their aircraft were destroyed in a Tamil Tiger rebel attack on Colombo airport in 2001 may return in the near future.

Cargo airlines operating scheduled flights to the airport include:

DHL operates flights to Beirut on an ad-hoc basis.

TMA - Trans Mediterranean Airways, a Lebanese private cargo carrier is currently not flying as its fleet was grounded. It's future fate is uncertain at the moment.

Saudi Arabian Airlines Cargo is a periodic visitor.

Lebanese private charter carrier, MenaJet, is based in Beirut.

External links

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