Beirut Airport Flooding Sparks Citywide Controversy
An unexpected fate has befallen the city of Beirut after it faced unexpected and unprecedented amounts of torrential rain along with a heavy onslaught of hailstone. Facing the most damage was the city’s airport, the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. After heavy rain that did not last more than 20 minutes, a massive stream of water traveled into the arrival and departure halls of the airport, completely flooding its interiors. Not just that, even the outside of the airport including the surrounding roads and parking lot turned into lakes. The entire incident sparked massive debate across the city on where to place the blame.
Across social media, activists have shared videos of travelers at the country’s only airport having trouble moving between its floors and some even carrying bags atop their heads. Fueling with rage, activists mocked the entire situation, saying “This is Beirut’s port, not its airport.”
In response, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation defended the airport by saying “It was found that the drainage sewers and rainwater pumps were operating normally, but the amounts of rain exceeded the carrying capacity of those sewers and pumps, causing water to flow into the passenger station building.”
The issue is that the damage has already been done and many Lebanese locals are concerned with the upcoming flights during the holiday season. Once again officials had a response wherein Beiruti told Arab News that “The flooding at Beirut airport happens in all airports around the world and will not prevent anyone from deciding to spend their holiday in Lebanon.”
Based on that, flights will resume as usual during the holidays with foreigners and the like entering the city.
