Beirut International Airport

thanks Britannia

Great picy’s, well done

Cheers! Going a bit O/T now but do you know of any great websites for Beirut? We can take it via PM if you wish.

Thanks Sonnenflieger,
I will give you some tips for some nice places: Downtown Beirut (don’t miss it, restored , beautiful architecture), Monot Street in Beirut (hottest place for discos and pubs, you will really enjoy there), Jeita Grotto, Baalbeck (Roman Remains), Byblos ……
Anyway if I’m able to go Home this summer, I’ll be pleased to meet you there and show you some nice places.
Regards

Originally posted by MEA380
Concerning security (hijacking ….), nowadays lebanese are very happy that terror and civil war is only history, BEY has a very high security.
Regards

I think we all are happy for you. I admire not only MEA but the Lebanese people for living through that awful civil war and can’t wait to see for myself the Pearl of the Mediterranean. I’ve heard many talking with great joy about Beirut and how it was in the 60s and early 70s. Ahh, still at least two and a half months until I can go…

greekdude1,
you are right !

Sonnenflieger ,
first of all, concerning the terminals, the new ones (West and East Terminals) are completely new, in the 90’s BEY was operating from the old terminal and at the same time beside it the new terminals were being built, starting 2001 the new terminals were finalized, so the old terminal was destroyed and a new airport was born with new terminals and 3 runways (RWY 17/35 added and a new RWY21/03 built parallel to the old RWY21/03). It was one of the greatest airport projects in the world during the 90’s.
Concerning security (hijacking ….), nowadays lebanese are very happy that terror and civil war is only history, BEY has a very high security.
Regards

Originally posted by Jeanske_SN
Erm, sorry for going completely of the topic, but isn’t the rear emergency exit a bit dangerous for evacuation if one of the engines are on fire?

They just wouldn’t use that exit. 727’s and MD-80’s have exits in the same general vicinity of their rear-mounted engines.

Has the airport changed much from, say 1985, when I saw it on TV as TWA847 and other hijacked aircraft passed through? I know a new runway has been built, but has the terminal and the other areas changed?

good remark Jeanske_SN ,
I never thought of it, it is probably very risky, I think in every aircraft there’s a certain risk, not only in this VC-10, but let’s keep our finger crossed and hope always for a pleasant and safe flight,
maybe one good think in competitions (in example nowadays between Airbus and Boeing) is to improve aviation security.

🙂
Regards

Erm, sorry for going completely of the topic, but isn’t the rear emergency exit a bit dangerous for evacuation if one of the engines are on fire?
Looks like a fascinating airport.

thanks greekdude1 😀 , by the way, this is a picture of the old BEY terminal in the 60’s, the airplane is a MEA Vickers VC-10 .

Fantastic photos MEA! I look forward to Beirut re-gaining their “Las Vegas of the Middle East” moniker that they held in the 1960’s.

Jeanske_SN,
you are right, the load factors on the 777 is high, especially in summer, that’s why Air France is adding a flight every saturday on a B747-400.
Regards

Originally posted by Airline owner
France isnt all that far away from Beirut so why do they operate such large aircraft – the 777 and in the future A 380

There is no other option, since their fleet jumps from the a321 to the a330-200 or 763 when looking at size. the a321 would maybe be good for a thrice daily service, but high frequency isn’t part of Air France’s strategy. An a330-200 is likely not enough for a daily service, therefore the 777-200 suits them best.
If Air france decide to operate an a380 in Beirut, then the load factors on the 777 must be high!

Airline owner , like wannabe pilot said, there’s a huge demand on the CDG-BEY route, Air France is operating a daily 777 and MEA 2 daily flights: an A330 and an A321, this summer Air France will operate an additional Saturday flight on a B747-400. Iran Air have the 5th Freedom on the CDG-BEY, so this route is served 23 times per week, which is huuuuuge.

Thanks a lot MEA380! 🙂

wannabe pilot,
yes, good remark, they did plan very well the go around procedure, and if the weather is stormy, then you have the opposite, landing on RWY3 and take-off on RWY35.

Sonnenflieger ,
first of all, it’ll be nice visiting lebanon in summer, you won’t regret it 😀 . Concerning the airport, it’s so easy to take pictures from the road leading to the departures, but if you plan to take pictures from the runways or the tower, then you’ll need a special permit from the airport officials. Last time I was in Beirut I saw one or two 720s near the maintenance hangar, clearly visible from the road leading to the departures. And for a best view, you can rent a cessna for an hour (I think for something like 100 euros) from the lebanese club of aviation. Enjoy your stay there 😀 I’ll be there too in summer.

AO, it isn’t always the distance, it depends on capacity too. ANA use their 747’s in Japan on short domestic sectors, as short as an hour long.