Airport weather station recorded 47 mm of rainfall in 20 minutes, causing water to flow into the premises and surround it from the outside Social media users shared videos of travelers at the country’s only airport struggling to move between floors and carrying their bags atop their heads BEIRUT: It only took 20 minutes of rain in Beirut on Tuesday afternoon to flood the Rafic Hariri International Airport with water. The airport weather station recorded 47 mm of rainfall in 20 minutes, causing water to flow into the premises and surround it from the outside. The surrounding roads and airport parking lot turned into lakes, with the rainwater reaching high enough to submerge car tires and people’s legs up to their knees. Activists on social media shared videos of travelers at the country’s only airport struggling to move between its floors and carrying their bags atop their heads, as escalators were flooded. Fadi Al-Hassan, the airport’s director, stated that “work is underway to address the situation.” A reliable source at the airport told Arab News that “the amount of rain that fell was too much for the drains to handle, coupled with a decline in maintenance work and the accumulation of waste, which led to the disaster that occurred.” According to the source, the airport’s internal courtyards were flooded, and water seeped into the cafes and duty-free shops. The nearby external car park was also submerged in water. Activists mocked the situation, saying, “This is Beirut’s port, not its airport.” Meanwhile, the Lebanese people are hopeful for a revival of the holiday season with the arrival of expatriates and tourists to the country for the holiday break. Jean Beiruti, secretary-general of the Tourism Unions’ Federations, expects the number of reservations to increase from the 4,000 people who have already booked to come to Lebanon to 8,000 people per day, possibly reaching 12,000 in the coming days. Beirut airport is currently transporting Lebanese and Syrian passengers from Lebanon to abroad and vice versa. Several Arab and foreign airlines have decided to suspend flights to and from Beirut airport due to security tensions on the southern Lebanese border and in the region because of the Gaza war. This has led international insurance companies to reduce financial coverage for active aircraft crews on the Lebanon route, including the national company Middle East Airlines, which currently operates only 12 aircraft after transferring nine other aircraft to Cairo, Amman, Larnaca, Istanbul, and Paris, awaiting further developments in the situation. 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. It may cause some embarrassment for a few minutes, but it will not deter people from coming to Lebanon, he said. The tourism unions in Lebanon agree that “Lebanese expatriates are different from foreign tourists as they decide their destination at the last moment, while foreigners plan their vacations,” according to Beiruti. He added: “This leads us to expect an increase in bookings in the coming days.” It is expected that Lebanese expatriates working in nearby Arab countries will come to Lebanon to spend the Christmas holiday with their families. “Emirates Airlines informed Beirut airport that starting from Wednesday, they will organize two daily flights to Beirut airport. Middle East Airlines also increased its flights from Dubai to Beirut by multiple times,” Beiruti said. He expects the tourism sector “to pick up in the next two weeks if the security situation remains stable.” He also anticipates “the arrival of Iraqi and Syrian tourists.” Some Lebanese regions have started decorating the streets and lighting them up for the holidays, as well as organizing special celebrations for children.