Beirut International Airport activity receded markedly on a monthly basis in September, with the number of passengers dropping by 21.88% month-on-month to 652,955, reflecting the seasonal drop at the end of the summer season. Nevertheless, passenger traffic remained well below the 681,963 level recorded a year earlier, as expatriates and tourists remained cautious about the risk of renewed hostilities in the region. Additionally, the hike in ticket prices due to the increase in the price of oil may also have contributed to the annual drop. The ratio of departing to arriving passengers attained 1.22x in September 2026 (as most expatriates and tourists return to their country of residence ahead of schools/universities reopening) compared to 1.26x in August 2026, 0.65x in July, and 0.74x in June. On a cumulative basis, the total number of passengers dropped by 21.57% y-o-y to ~4.24 million passengers in the first nine months of 2026 down from 5.40 million passengers a year earlier. More specifically, the number of arriving travelers via the BIA dropped by 20.50% m-o-m and by fell by 23.81% on a cumulative basis y-o-y to 2.11 million YTD September 2026. The number of departing travelers also receded by 22.93% m-o-m and dropped by 19.27% on a cumulative basis y-o-y to 2.13 million. The number of transit travelers, on the other hand, remained flat m-o-m and increased by 94.62% on a cumulative basis y-o-y to 2,458. As to the number of flights, the latter saw a monthly drop of 17.41% and a cumulative annual drop of 17.29% in the first nine months of the current year to 34,574. It is worth highlighting in this context that the share of Middle East Airlines (MEA) dropped from 45.62% of the total number of flights in the first nine months of 2025 to 45.55% by end of September 2026. This is further sketched in the section below: