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Rafiq Hariri Beirut International Airport

Beirut International Airport (BIA) has been renamed to Rafiq Hariri International Airport after the assassination of the Prime Minister in February 2005. BIA is located in the Khaldeh suburb south of the capital Beirut and around 8kms distant from Beirut downtown. This is the only commercial airport, making it a vital facility linking Lebanon with the outside world and highly contributing in to the business and tourist sectors of the economy. Its latest development is resulting in a substantial increase in the number of tourists, and attracting major airline companies and increasing transit traffic.

HISTORY AND EVOLUTION

It first became operational in 1954. The old airport was renovated in 1977, and the present runways were rehabilitated between 1982 and 1984. The execution of the first phase of the new airport started in 1994 and was inaugurated in 1998. However, the second phase was inaugurated on the fifth of July 2000 and the operation started on the sixth of June 2002. The total area covered by the airport is around 7 million square meters and the overall area of the terminal building is 150,000 square meters. The new design and infrastructures have been engineered and redeveloped to handle 6 million passengers per year and to receive 30 aircrafts at the same time. It has 84 passenger counters, 21 passenger gates, and the parking area has a capacity of 2250 cars. Future development plans aim at handling 16 million passengers by the year 2035.

FACILITIES AT THE AIRPORT
 
- Duty Free Shops
- Banking in Departure and Arrival Lounges
- Currency Exchange
- ATMs
- Tax Refund for VAT
- Restaurants
- Public Phone
- WiFi Internet Access
- Car Parking
- Car Rental
- Taxi