Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport has published its figures through the end of last April, revealing passenger arrivals and departures for the first four months of this year. The data makes clearly visible the impact of the ongoing Israeli war on Lebanon — first, in the overall decline in airport traffic, and second, in the number of one-way departures. The effects of the war were further reflected in a drop in the number of flights in both directions, though Middle East Airlines' share of total flights remained unaffected.
Arrivals and Departures
Airport figures indicate that total traffic — combining arrivals and departures — reached approximately 1.24 million passengers during the first four months of the year, compared to roughly 1.85 million passengers during the same period last year. This represents a 33 percent decline, or approximately one third, between the two periods.
According to the same figures, this decline is directly linked to the war, which began at the start of last March. Total traffic fell gradually from 546,000 passengers in January, to 410,000 in February, dropping sharply to just 139,000 after the outbreak of war in March, then 151,000 during April. It is thus clear that the steep decline recorded in March and April — after the war began — is what caused the overall drop in traffic during the first four months of the year.
At the level of net transit movement — that is, the difference between arrivals and departures — the war's impact appears differently. During the first four months of the year, 677,000 passengers departed through Beirut airport, compared to 567,000 arrivals. This indicates that 110,000 passengers left on a one-way basis during that period, a figure directly tied to the outflow from Lebanon driven by the ongoing war.
For comparison, during the same period in 2025, airport figures show that Lebanon received 961,000 arriving passengers against 888,000 departures — meaning the airport recorded 73,000 net one-way arrivals during the first four months of 2025. At that stage, the inbound movement was connected to the return of travelers following the signing of the ceasefire agreement and the end of the previous Israeli war on Lebanon.
Flight Numbers and Transit Traffic
Regarding total flights, the number fell to 11,412 by April 2026, compared to 14,945 during the same period in 2025 — a 24 percent decline in round-trip flights between the two periods. It is worth noting that the drop in flight numbers was proportionally smaller than the drop in passenger numbers, indicating that the average number of passengers per flight also declined.
By contrast, airport figures recorded a notable surge in transit passengers. The number rose to 1,232 during the first four months of this year, compared to just 210 during the same period last year. This shift reflects two concurrent developments: a return of confidence in security conditions at Beirut airport this year, and airlines' increasing use of the airport as an intermediate hub amid regional disruptions. Throughout all of this, Middle East Airlines' share of total airport passengers remained stable at 51.23 percent, compared to 51.28 percent during the same period last year.
Historical Emigration Trends
The war-related displacement figures form part of a longer pattern of emigration. Between 2012 and 2023, Lebanon saw 621,000 Lebanese nationals depart on a one-way basis, driven by the country's economic crisis. The year 2019 — which marked the beginning of the banking and currency collapse — recorded the largest single wave of emigration, with 67,000 Lebanese leaving one-way for countries of the diaspora. During and after the previous Israeli war, Lebanon recorded the one-way departure of 900,000 Lebanese and Syrians between September 23, 2024, and November 28, 2025 — a total distributed between 235,570 Lebanese and 663,240 Syrians.
In all scenarios, the airport is expected to record a return movement once the current war ends, for a portion of those who departed one-way during this conflict — just as occurred at the start of last year. But it is certain that Lebanon will continue to register the same demographic hemorrhage underway since 2012, sustained by economic pressures that the current war has only deepened, pending the country's eventual entry into a path of financial recovery.
