BEIRUT AIRPORT review : 29 April 2008 : by David Allan

Customer Rating : 4/5

Very clean and modern airport, with adequate shopping and F&B facilities. Fast throughput and friendly staff (except security). Only criticism would be that immigration is exceedingly slow.

Beirut  Airport by N Vanian

24 January 2008   Customer Rating :

A nice, clean and modern airport. Breezed through on the way in, cleared immigration and picked up bags within 10 minutes. On the way out the immigration was a little slow, they are quite thorough. Nice shops and restaurants and again very clean and pleasant.

Beirut  Airport by J Karam

29 August 2005   Customer Rating : n/a

Beirut International Airport (now called Rafic Hariri International Airport) is a great airport to travel through or even just pick up family and friends. There are three new and trendy snack bars/restaurants, which are a bit pricey, but serve excellent food, including sushi. Only one overall comment though, this airport is in dire need of implementing a smoke-free policy.

Beirut  Airport by Michael Toohey

29 December 2004

Travelled through Beirut Airport twice in September 2004. Airport is clean, modern and well run. Staff are efficient but not what I would call friendly; not in the cheesey way you see in the advertisements. However they are courteous and things move along as intended. I would be happy to use the airport again.

Beirut  Airport by N Jacobs

23 October 2004

Beiut Airport is still very efficient. Clean and very modern. Staff are generally very helpful with genuine smiles. Official staff ie customs and security officers can be bland. It may be worth noting this airport is not entirely under the control of official Lebanese officers.

Beirut  Airport by James Stratford

30 September 2004

I passed through the airport in Beirut on 27th September. For no obvious reason the olive oil I had purchased, duty free, in Amman airport (which was unopened) was confiscated as being a danger - I was not even allowed to check it in. Given that one can buy (duty free in Beirut) 50% or stronger, proof alcohol I found this absurd and irritating. Not helped by rude staff either.

Beirut  Airport by Trisha O' Neill

24 May 2004

Flight to Beirut - Nov '03 - The airport may be clean, but I personally found the staff incredibly rude and very impatient. It took 6, yes, 6 very unsmiling, incredibly serious looking military staff to check, double check, triple check documents, baggage etc. Very unhelpful staff in the Duty Free Zone as well, which I found extremely small and with very little choice. I personally never had such a feeling of delight to leave any airport. Clean but that's about all.

Beirut  Airport by Fadi Chahine

7 May 2004

Passenger traffic was up by 20 per cent last year, when the number of airlines coming to Beirut jumped from 35 to 54, and private charter traffic soared by 140 per cent over 2001. The open skies policy which was implemented in 2002 to lift restrictions on incoming passengers and aircraft has put BIA on a world map in terms of being a country with a system that is liberal and open toward deregulation - and it led Europe to consider Lebanon as the country in the region to renegotiate bilateral agreements.

Beirut  Airport by N Jacob

12 February 2004

Travelled through Beirut International Airport 4 times in January, to/from Middle East and to/from Europe. The airport is a very efficient operation indeed. Lebanese airport authorities extremely friendly and also efficient. Facilities, including First and Business Class lounge are very relaxing with great waiter service. Duty free is relatively extensive (but Dubai tops this arena in the Middle East) Overall an extremely modern, very clean and secure airport - all-in-all a pleasure to transit in or travel through.

Beirut  Airport by Jason Andrews

22 August 2003

BIA is an excellent facility that is well designed, kept and maintained. Its stuff are very courteous and helpful. Direct flights in and out of North America is a must in order to further position the airport globally. Air Canada's plan for a direct Montreal-Beirut is still in place, but has yet to be granted approval by Canadian authorities. A plan for a new terminal at the airport is underway, extending its current annual capacity well beyond the 6 million passenger mark.

Beirut  Airport by Shawki Anis Hilal

15 August 2003

Beirut International Airport is an excellent facility, if it was less swarming with Syrian Military Intelligence that make the airport uncomfortable. Second, the phone card booth is always closed.

Beirut  Airport by Byron Scott

14 February 2003

The newly-redeveloped airport is nice - mostly efficient and friendly. AF couldn't get my bags transferred in Paris and the MEA staff gave me $100 without any fuss (they say this happens every day in Paris). Good inbound duty free. Not much shopping yet, but the main duty free (after check in) is quite large. There is a snack bar and small duty free after final security check. And plenty of seating.

Beirut  Airport by Marek Rozwadowski

12 October 2002

I had an unexpected transit stop at Beirut due to Paris CDG inefficiency and problems on 4th October, 2002. Clean and efficient - friendly staff -spacious. One problem, however. Impossible to make a telephone call without a phone card. The only place where one could buy a phone card was closed! Phones that can be accessed with credit cards would be a great asset. Eventually I had to rely on a kind person in the first class lounge to lend me a mobile phone. Computer terminals to access emails would be helpful

Beirut  Airport by David Crow

4 October 2002

Beirut Airport gets very crowded but still the transit is very convenient. The Airport is one block and you don't need to take any bus or train to transfer to another wing. I had a flight from Paris to Dubai with MEA and the transfer time was only 2 hours. The staff are really friendly and extremely helpful. I think BIA beats most of the middle eastern airports.

Beirut  Airport by J Adrian

28 September 2002

Beirut International Airport is a modern and clean facility. The new western wing is spacious and has new and international-standard duty free facilities. However, still one feels that there is a lot of space in the airport and that this space can be utilized more effectively. Landing at runway which is built over the Mediteranean sea is quite a unique experience. At Christmas time, the airport is nicely and festively decorated (the time I travelled) and the staff and immigration officers are highly professional, efficient, and friendly.

Beirut  Airport by S Saadeh

13 August 2002

I think BIA is one of the most modern airports in the world. There are very good facilities for the passengers especially after the opening of the second terminal where you don't wait too much in the line anymore to check your passports or luggage. The only few points that I didn't like about it are that you feel that you have so much empty space that is not used (could be used for stores or offices). Another thing is that people who are not travelling cannot see the airplanes like at London Heathrow, although it is not very usual in most of the airports. People who knew the old airport could remember the amazing cafe on the second floor of the building where people could sit and watch the airplane movements. Unfortunately this does not exist anymore.

Beirut  Airport by Hamdy Chaouk

25 July 2002

Beirut International Airport is more than capable of handling the influx of visitors this summer.  With the recent opening of the western wing of the airport, it now has a total of 24 gates, which means it can accommodate 24 planes at a time.  The opening of this wing has increased to 40 the number of passport security counters.  Obstacles in the air transport sector had been lifted in an effort to boost tourism and as of this year, private charter airlines are allowed to operate from Beirut. The Lebanese government has licensed 11 Lebanese-based companies as passenger charter carriers. These new charters will work with Lebanese tour operators but will fly routes on which MEA does not operate.  I am sure the industry can carry the weight of competition.  A total of 45 airlines now operate out of the BIA, the newest one from the Gulf including Oman Air.  The fact that most visitors can buy a tourist visa on arrival at the airport is added incentive to travel to Lebanon. Visas are granted for up to a year and a return ticket is now no longer needed to enter. 

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