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Record Number of Travelers Depart Beirut Airport in One Day

A general view shows Beirut's international airport, Lebanon November 21, 2015. (Reuters)
A general view shows Beirut's international airport, Lebanon November 21, 2015. (Reuters)
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Record Number of Travelers Depart Beirut Airport in One Day

A general view shows Beirut's international airport, Lebanon November 21, 2015. (Reuters)
A general view shows Beirut's international airport, Lebanon November 21, 2015. (Reuters)

A record number of people departed Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport on Friday, said Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan.

She said 22,800 travelers left the country, expressing in a tweet her “understanding” of the arduous wait in queues.

“We will exert all possible efforts to overcome” the long lines at the facility, she said.

The number of travelers is expected to increase next week with the end of the Eid al-Adha holiday as more Lebanese expatriates return to their homes abroad.

Airport director Fadi al-Hassan predicted to Asharq Al-Awsat that the number of travelers between August 19 and 25 will exceed the figures recorded on Friday.

Some 4 million travelers were recorded at Lebanon’s only functioning airport during the first half of 2019, marking a 4 percent rise for the same period last year.

The number of travelers in July jumped 2.65 percent compared to 2018.

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China Seeks to Bolster Ports and Aviation Hubs in Western Regions

The city skyline is reflected in a pool left on the dry riverbed of the receding Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels during a regional drought in Chongqing, China, August 20, 2022. (Reuters)
The city skyline is reflected in a pool left on the dry riverbed of the receding Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels during a regional drought in Chongqing, China, August 20, 2022. (Reuters)
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China Seeks to Bolster Ports and Aviation Hubs in Western Regions

The city skyline is reflected in a pool left on the dry riverbed of the receding Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels during a regional drought in Chongqing, China, August 20, 2022. (Reuters)
The city skyline is reflected in a pool left on the dry riverbed of the receding Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels during a regional drought in Chongqing, China, August 20, 2022. (Reuters)

China said on Sunday it would launch 15 measures to bolster the development of its western provinces with the construction of logistical infrastructure such as ports and aviation hubs.

The General Administration of Customs said the measures would enhance the integration of rail, air, river and sea links in China's west, state media reported.

The measures are to include enhancing international aviation hubs in cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xi'an and Urumqi, while developing comprehensive bonded zones, and integrating these with ports and other transport links.

A number of ports would also be built and expanded.

China has long sought to bolster the economic heft of its western regions, which have markedly lagged coastal provinces.

China's western regions comprise around two-thirds of the country's land area and include regions such as Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Xinjiang and Tibet.

China's Politburo last year called for a "new urbanization" of western China to revitalize rural areas, expand poverty alleviation efforts and strengthen energy resources. Efforts have also been made to increase linkages to Europe and South Asia through trade corridors including rail freight routes.