The number of departing and arriving passengers at Rafik Hariri International Airport [Beirut, Lebanon] rose by 17 percent in March and 11 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority Wednesday.
The report also said that this improvement occurred despite the 68 percent fall in transit passengers last month and 72 percent in the first three months of 2013.
The Civil Aviation Authority added that imported and exported air cargo through the airport rose 30 percent in the first quarter and 45 percent in March.
The number of passengers in the first quarter reached 1,370,862 while the number of transit passengers in the same period stood at 4,277, a drop of 72.34 percent.
The number of arrivals in March reached 237,995 while departures in the same period stood at 273,372.
However, the number of commercial flights using the airport fell by 28.14 percent in the first quarter of this year.
The number of flights in March reached 14,866, a drop of 31.38 percent.
The number of flights for private jets in the first three months fell by 33.89 percent to reach 1,744.
