Ireland’s daa International to operate new Beirut Airport terminal - a risky environment?
Beirut has almost become the 'forgotten man' among Middle East airports. While Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi in particular have prospered, Rafic (also Rafik) Hariri International Airport has languished through years of civil war, political upheaval, corruption, financial crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just when everyone thought it was safe to come out from behind the kanaba (sofa), there was a huge accidental explosion that wiped out half of the city.
And yet, within recent memory Beirut was the Middle East's playground for the idle rich, the Monte Carlo of the Arab World; it had an airline and airport to match, the latter hosting as many private jets as commercial flights.
Perhaps it is that image, and the prospect that it might one day be restored, that has prompted Ireland's daa International to bid for, and be granted, the opportunity to manage the Terminal 2 that is to be built there. One day it might venture to invest in the terminal, or the entire airport, as it has done elsewhere - but if so, it could be entering a minefield.
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