Tag Archives | beirut airport

Uber and Careem No Longer Allowed to Pick Up Passengers from Beirut Airport

By Rami on April 4, 2019 in Beirut, Transportation, What the fuck!

Several news websites reported last week that a new decision (number 1/247) was issued by the Minister of Transport that aims to organize the operation of Taxi cabs at the airport, an urged taxi drivers to abide with it as of the first of April. No details were provided about that decision and the ministry website didn’t have any information, so it all sounded vague.

A few days later I started hearing about people arriving to Beirut Airport not being able to meet their designated drivers at the exit and I just made sure yesterday it was because of that decision.

A friend of mine arrived last night and tried to use Careem, but a few minutes later the driver called and told him he can no longer go beyond the army check point (around 700m away from the airport entrance), and that he should meet him there to pick him up. With too much distance to walk, my friend decided to simply cancel the ride and book one of the official airport taxi cars, except that they told him it will cost “around $50” to drive him to Dekwane which is ridiculously exorbitant, so he just said thanks and called one of his relatives to come take him instead.

So whatever that decision states, it essentially no longer allows taxi river to pick up their arriving passengers from the parking lot as before in order to force people to use the official airport taxi drivers who are infamous for charging very high amount for a few kilometers rides. Therefore, in case you are arriving to Beirut anytime soon, make sure to arrange for a friend or relative to pick you up if you don’t want to bear unnecessary charges.

Keep in mind that our so called tourism season should start in a few weeks from now, and this decision is basically the best way to kick it off!

Update (April 5th 2019):

Private taxi companies can pick up passengers from the airport only if they apply for a special permit from the syndicate of Lebanese taxi drivers for every ride they want to make.

The permit should include the passengers name along with their flight details in order not to be used more than once.

Update 2 (April 5th 2019):

Minister of Transportation Youssef Fenianos just reversed his decision, so taxi drivers can pick up incoming passengers from the parking lot just like before.

Inside The Middle East Airlines Training and Conference Center

By Rami on March 6, 2019 in Lebanon, Travel

On the way to airport, and just before you reach its entrance, you can’t but notice “The Dome”. This intriguing structure is part of the Middle East Airlines Training and Conference Center, where their staff get most of their training at. And since I have always felt curious to know how would it be like inside such training facility, I simply contacted someone I know there a couple of weeks ago to check if I can visit the center.

A few days later, the the cool people at MEA quickly arranged an appointment for me to tour the facility and I was lucky to be accompanied by one of their engineers, a training manager, and of course a communications officer.

I think people know very little about the things that happen behind the scenes at an airline, so here’s everything I saw at the 43,500 m2 MEA training center.

Flight Training

First things first. When I initially asked MEA to visit their training center I was mostly interested in checking the equipment that help their pilots achieve their flight training, so the tour started by first visiting the available simulators.

MEA currently has a full motion Airbus A320 flight simulator, and two other fixed-base simulators. As you can see below, the full motion simulator gives the same feeling as being inside a real cockpit with the surrounding screens displaying very realistic scenes. It can simulate turbulences and any required weather condition, and once you’re inside you simply feel like you’re in a real flight due to all the movement feedback that the device provides. Training on this simulator counts like flying a real airplane for the pilot and it is the only one of its kind in the middle east, that’s why pilots from other airlines in the region come to Lebanon to train on it.

There’s currently only 1 full motion simulator but the space where it is installed can actually accommodate 3 others. I heard they might soon be getting additional ones but I couldn’t figure out of what model series.

The other two fixed-base simulator are for the Airbus A320 and A330 but they of course don’t feel as real as the one above.

In addition to the simulators, the center has 20 stations for CBT (Computer Based Training) as well as a facility for pilot’s license renewal. As I was informed, pilots should undergo certain tests every 6 months to renew they licence and the MEA has a dedicated accredited facility for that.

Cabin Crew Training

My second stop was at the division where the cabin crew are trained. Again, real airplane models are used with simulators to train the crew on several evacuation scenarios including jumping into an adjacent swimming pool.

The material inside the airplane mockup (photo below) are the same that are used in a regular Airbus, while the windows are in fact screens that can simulate different scenarios like a fire, cracked window, emergency landing, etc… and according to each situation the crew is trained on a course of action. Note that the pilots get similar training in order to be able to cope with incidents inside the cockpit.

The Conference Center

Apart from the available training facilities, the building has many conference areas. People are probably familiar with the Riad Salaeh auditorium (also known as The Dome) since it shows in the news every now and then, but there’s also a much larger hall, The Mohammad Al Hout hall, which extends over an area of 680 m2 and has a very large attached kitchen to it in order to serve the events.

The conference zones of the center can host various events and are therefore not for the exclusive use of MEA as they can be rented to any company willing to host an occasion or event.

The same also applies to the training areas since other airlines in the region pay the MEA sometimes to use the center in order to train their staff. Some of the airlines that recently used the facilities are Cyprus Airways, Air India, and Turkish Airlines. So basically the whole center contributes in generating additional income to the MEA.

All in all, I really enjoyed the tour and it felt cool getting exposed to the aviation world with all the info that experts were telling me. More importantly, it was also nice to know that a center of such caliber does exist in Lebanon and serves regional airlines from neighboring countries.

Emirates Airlines to Operate A380 Test Flight to Beirut

By Rami on March 12, 2018 in Travel

Emirates Airlines announced last month it will be operating an A380 test flight to Beirut Airport on March 29th in order to test the operations and necessary infrastructure to later accommodate a regular A380 service to Lebanon.

This is a (somehow) big deal now for our airport because when the A380 was unable to land in Beirut when it was first introduced 10 years ago since it needs special infrastructure unlike and other plane. So I assume the ministry of transport and the Lebanese civil aviation authority did the necessary upgrades in order to finally make it possible.

The double deck A380 is by the way the world’s largest passenger plane, and I’ve heard a lot about the luxurious experience that Emirates offers on its first and business class from friends who tried the service (check what is it like here on Youtube). I’m not sure though how cost effective will this luxury be aboard the 4 hours Beirut-Dubai, but I imagine people who take long-haul flights will definitely appreciate it. I personally wouldn’t mind a refreshing shower on a 14 hours trip!

Here’s How Much You Should Now Pay When Leaving Beirut Airport

By Rami on August 23, 2017 in Economy

The minute President Aoun pased the salary scale and tax hike laws 2 days ago, the civil aviation authority at Beirut Airport instructed all operating airlines to start collecting an exit tax as of Wednesday (August 22nd). But unfortunately people remained clueless about the exact fees and exceptions since no details were provided by the government except for the article published in the official journal which (almost) no one reads…!

As per article 9 of law #45, here are the fees to be paid:

For economy class 60,000L.L ($40)
For business class 110,000L.L ($78)
For first class 150,000L.L ($100)
For travelers aboard private jets 400,000L.L ($266)

Note that passengers aboard flights with distance less than 1,250Km are exempted from this tax, so you’re clear if you fly to Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, and other nearby destinations.

I assume those who have already purchased their tickets before Wednesday are paying the exit tax in cash at the airport, but I’m not sure whether it is going to remain like that in the future or airlines will simply add to their tickets prices…

A lot of posts/messages are circulating about the new taxes by the way but most have incorrect figures, so make sure to refer back to the this issue of the official journal for the exact figures and consult your lawyer for additional info.

Beirut-Montreal Direct Flights Might Soon Become a Reality

By Rami on June 13, 2017 in Travel

According to a recent article, Air Canada seems to be currently focused on making direct flights possible between Montreal and Beirut.

“We started the regulatory process in 2003,” Rovinescu said. However, geopolitical events intervened, and the carrier itself did not have the right equipment to make the route viable. “We are now at the stage where it looks like we can put the pin in it,” he said.

Part of the challenge of operating the route is ensuring right-level security screenings in Beirut, Rovinescu added. Air Canada is working with its Star Alliance partner Lufthansa, which operates in Beirut, to learn how to address these concerns. Source

With more than 200,000 Lebanese now residing in Canada (as per Wikipedia), such direct route is much needed to help them avoid the tiresome layovers in the European or Gulf cities. And attributing the ban on Beirut Airport to security issues is in my opinion invalid since many airlines operate direct flights to European airports that have some pretty high security standards.

Back in 2012 there was some talks about bringing back direct flights between Lebanon and the United States but it never led to something serious, so let’s hope the efforts Air Canada is currently putting to make Beirut-Montreal route possible do not end the same way.

13 Year Old Boy Defeats Security Controls at Beirut Airport

By Rami on September 2, 2016 in Random

beirut airport

This is definitely one of the weirdest news stories lately. Walid Shabti, A 13 year old Palestinian refugee from Bourj Al-Barajneh, was apparently fed up with his living conditions here and simply decided to escape the country. He somehow managed to get on board an airplane going to Istanbul after bypassing all security checkpoints at Beirut airport, but was later busted and departed back to Beirut.

Knowing that airport security is supposed to be tightened these days, this boy must have been either extremely smart or extra lucky to bypass all the controls. I mean there are around 4 checkpoints where you will be asked to show your passport/ticket before you are allowed on board and he still made it.

Out of all this though, I guess the best thing is that he has one hell of an adventure to tell his friends about now!

Beirut through the lens of a Pan Am stewardess in the 60s

By Rami on August 7, 2013 in Lebanon

This video with highlights from Hong Kong, Beirut, Bangkok and Tehran was compiled by a stewardess called Mary Lou Bigelow throughout her service with Pan American Airways between 1962 and 1964.

You can start watching the part from Beirut at the 7m23s mark with scenes from Beirut Airport, Raouche, Manara, Phoenicia Hotel and water skiing in Saint Georges Hotel.

Everytime I watch an old video of Beirut, I wish I was born earlier to live the golden era of this city!

Beirut Duty Free – La Casa del Habano ad

By Rami on June 14, 2013 in Lebanon

The girls should have been topless with a QR code on each boob. Fard marra ya3neh.

Agent 505 – Todesfalle Beirut

By Rami on January 27, 2013 in Lebanon

I just stumbled upon this old German movie called “Agent 505 – Todesfalle Beirut” (also known as “Agent 505 – The Trap Door Falls in Beirut”) that was shot in Beirut back in 1966.

The part below has some scenes from Raouche, Ain El Mraisseh, and the airport of Beirut. I wish I can find some other parts or even the full movie somewhere online!

If you’re curious about the storyline, here’s what I found by one user on IMDB.

A dastardly villain known as The Sheikh threatens to wipe out the city of Beirut (and all 650,000 of its citizens) in this reasonably entertaining West German thriller from director Manfred Kohler, perhaps best known today for co-writing Harry Kumel’s erotic vampire epic Daughters of Darkness. Frederick Stafford plays suave secret agent Richard Blake, on the trail of The Sheikh with the assistance of gorgeous reporter Denise DuPree (Genevieve Cluny). A philanthropist named Omar Abdullah (Willy Birgel), whose cause is rehabilitating criminals, attracts the attention of Blake, and we’re off to the races. Babes, bullets, and gadgets–they’re all here and shot on location in mod, mod Beirut, at the time an ‘international city’ and a popular spot for European co-productions.

Music lovers should note that Ennio Morricone’s score echoes his spaghetti western work but fits nicely into the proceedings, whilst anticipating Theodorakis’ percussive Z score by a full year. The English language print misspells his name ‘Morricono’, though!

Ukranian woman strips naked in Beirut airport

By Rami on December 22, 2012 in Lebanon

As per Al-Jadeed, A Ukranian woman was arrested at Beirut airport today after she stripped naked in protest against the smoking ban!

If only our people protested this way instead of burning tires and blocking roads!

Update:

I just read in The Daily Star that some source in the airport claimed this lady was actually protesting the General Security’s decision to expel her from the country because her residency papers had expired. You can check the article here.

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