The revival of Northern Lebanon’s airport brings economic hope to the region | Business and Financial Issues

Beirut, Lebanon – On June 6, Lebanon’s second airport received a plane carrying several officials, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

For years, Lebanon has relied on the country’s only airport, south of Beirut. But the June 6 flight marked the reopening of Rene Mouawad Airport in the northern Lebanese town of Qlayaat, which officials hope will become a second international hub, with flights expected to Dubai, Istanbul, and a second hub in Turkey.

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“The inaugural flight was a ceremonial flight, and it is something very important,” Mazen Sammak, president of the Private Pilot Association of Lebanon, told Al Jazeera. “But the problem is in the next stages because (converting) a real tradition has many difficulties.”

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Airport in Qalayaatnamed after the former president of Lebanon Rene Mouawad, it was originally intended to receive passengers in the middle of the year. But the Israeli offensive has caused delays as Lebanon looks to the fallout from the war.

Since March 2, Israel has killed 3,826 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1.2 million people. A the third effort to end the war between Israel and Lebanon was announced earlier this week, and since then, many Lebanese have started to return home.

In November 2024, after a year of Israeli occupation of Lebanon, the World Bank said Lebanon needed about $11bn to rebuild and recover. Lebanon has also suffered another $3bn in war-related damage during Israel’s escalation of hostilities since March, although the figure is much higher.

Any project that can increase the economy is welcome, especially in northern Lebanon, the poorest and most vulnerable areas.

Qlayaat is located six kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Syrian border and will serve that area, as well as major Syrian cities such as Homs and the Syrian coast.

In fact, experts told Al Jazeera, the change of regime in Syria in December 2024 has given impetus to the airport project, since the former Syrian government of Assad opposed the idea, while others thought that it did not want competition on its domestic routes.

But with new governments in Syria and Lebanon – Salam came to power in Lebanon in 2025 – plans for the airport grew rapidly. The hope now is that, within three months or so, the airport will have smaller planes and lower-cost planes.

Sammak said that in the first year, the airport can serve about 115,000 people and reach 600,000 by the fourth year.

“We are still in the rehabilitation phase, which should take about three months from now,” he said. In the next three months, the airport will need to install a temporary terminal, baggage claim area, security screening, and check-in counters.

“You don’t even have a bathroom here,” Sammak said, adding that three locations have been confirmed for Qlayaat: Istanbul, Dubai, and Mersin in Turkey.

Second plane – to destroy Israel?

The opening of Lebanon’s second airport has led some in the country to fear that Israel could destroy Beirut’s airport, which is surrounded by the southern suburbs of the city – known as Dahiyeh.

Dahiyeh suffered major damage in 2024 and 2026, when Israel attacked Hezbollah forces in the area.

Israel struck Beirut’s airport during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, and while Israel has not attacked in the latest war, fears persist that it might decide to do so in the future.

But Sammak has denied the fact that the government’s actions are related to the Israeli invasion.

“I think Israel is not waiting for the Lebanese government to use another airfield (to) hit Beirut International Airport,” he said. “We see this airport (of Rene Mouawad) as an economic resource and as an emergency.”

Sammak said that if Israel wanted to harm Lebanon, it could hit both Beirut and Qlayat airports, instead of just one.

“They can hit any financial center in Lebanon, as (in 2006) they did when they hit all the bridges, around Lebanon, even in the north,” he said. “So no one can stop Israel from doing that. But at the moment, I don’t see any connection between (the move to Rene Mouawad Airport and the Israeli attack).”

Meanwhile, Sammak said the focus has shifted to preparing the airport to receive passengers: finishing touches, finding new routes, and obtaining safety certificates. But he warned against efforts by political groups to plant their people at the airport, as has been done in other government projects after the civil war (1975-1990).

“Experts are needed, no one can solve this problem; we need experts in this matter,” he said. “And I hope that politics will not get in the way of assigning people who are not trustworthy or who are not experts in this, and this cannot be done by people who have been given political jobs. We need real experts who are skilled and independent to do this.”