The Reopening of René Mouawad’s Airport: Preliminary Estimate of its Economic Impact
- Introduction
The Lebanese government announced officially on 6 June 2026, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the reopening and redevelopment of René Mouawad Airport in Qlayaat as a secondary civil and commercial airport. Sky Lounge Services company won the contract on 19 May 2026 to rehabilitate the site and build a new terminal, which has a timeline target of 90 days, and to run airport maintenance. The airport is planned to handle 114,000 passengers in its first year, with initial flight routes that include Mersin, Istanbul and Dubai, and with plans to expand the airport’s capacity to handle 600,000 passengers by its fourth year, and expand the routes to include Saudi Arabia, Cairo and Athens. The airport will also be used for cargo.
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