Lebanon to expand Rafic Hariri Airport

Lebanon's General Director of Civil Aviation stated plans are underway to expand the passenger and cargo capacity at Rafic Hariri International Airport (iloubnan.info, 02-Aug-2010). The expansion will increase the airport's capacity from 6 million passengers p/a to 18 million with the construction of a new terminal and the addition of 23 new gates. The expansion will also involve renovation of the runway and construction of additional MRO hangars. Construction is expected to take three years and expected to commence in Jan-2011. The plan stipulates doubling the number of gates to 46, with up to six designed to accommodate A380 equipment. The airport handled 2.4 million passengers in 1H2010, a 16.3% year-on-year increase, with the terminal's existing capacity expected to be exceeded later in 2010.