Minister of Public Works and Transportation Youssef Finianos said on Tuesday that “Beirut airport is set to welcome 4 or 5 million travelers, but these numbers multiplied due to several factors,” noting that the numbers hit a record high "because of pilgrims and expatriates, and what aggravated the situation was the Saudi embassy’s lag to deliver pilgrimage visas."
Finianos also affirmed that “despite the massive number of travelers, there was not a single security breach registered.”
He also revealed in a press conference following a tour of Beirut airport that 345 airplanes have left the airport on Monday for the first time, hitting a record, and noted that one million travelers were registered this month, with the number expected to rise.
Finianos considered that the airport is in need of expansion and that guidelines must be followed in this regard because the facility is no longer capable of handling such numbers.