Picture from Al-Akhbar
Everytime some Lebanese want to protest against the government, they block the airport road and burn tires.
Everytime there’s no electricity, or gas prices went up, or food prices went up, they block the airport road and burn tires.
Everytime two families clash in the Beirut suburbs even if for personal reasons; they feel the urge to block the airport road.
Everytime an idiotic motorist or driver dies on that road, his friends and family members burn tires and block the road.
For the past week, the families of the kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims in Syria have been blocking repeatedly the airport road and refusing to re-open it before their families are back. We all want their husbands and fathers and sons to go back but WTF does the airport have to do with all this? How is blocking the airport road helping their cause? Are they scaring away tourists (As if there’s any)? Lebanese expats? Syrians coming through the Beirut airport?
Why can’t everyone just leave that freakin’ airport road alone? No one should be allowed anywhere near this road for all I know.
In fact, and given the importance of that airport to the Lebanese economy and Lebanon as a whole, I seriously believe we should build at least another airport in areas where tire burning and blocking roads are not that common.
We already have an airport in Hamat which can be used as a start. It’s big enough and could serve as a secondary airport. Maybe then if we have a 2nd airport, those blocking the Beirut airport road will stop doing so realizing that there’s another one.
It’s really absurd that we have to post about such an issue. Only self-hating Lebanese would do things that could harm our economy and the well-being of others.
Hamat airport
Man there is no airport in Halat, it’s the Highway but it was turned into airport back in Civil war days – but I think you mean “Koley3at airport or Hamat airport in Batroun Areaâ€. In all cases, a 2nd airport is a must
I meant Hamat. Halat was turned into an airport shotly indeed. I guess the name stuck in my head while I was reading this article in the morning
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-24/news/mn-284_1_beirut-airport
Hi Najib,
The picture you show above is indeed the “Halat” runway that was converted back to the highway following the civil war.
The “Hamat” airport you are referring to bisects the town of “Hamat” and currently hosts a base for the LAF. Recent picture of the “Hamat” Airbase here:
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/1836749.jpg
Note: The south end of the runway is a great place to overlook the town of Batroun and have a beer.
Noted thank you 🙂
you mean “Halat Hatman”!!! hahaha
Haha No that’s not what I meant. It’s Hamat indeed.
Well it’s good to have a second airport but I doubt this will stop such idiots from blocking the roads which lead to both airports.
I agree with your views completely, being an expat it is really worrisome.
I think having a second airport will be an excuse for them to block the roads to both airports…
it’s airport road mania!!
I think them blocking the airport road like this every now and then is just a coincidence, mesta2rbin l jame3a… They can just close the door of their
houses and voila, the airport road is blocked, going further would cost a little bit, it is saved for later incidents…
Maskhara really!! In my opinion, the solution is not in another airport, it is yet in another population.
building a new airport is costly and not a good way to fix this issue..
what would fix this issue is 2 things.. first make 2 or more ways to get to the airport. and second, take everyone who blocks this road to jail. i am FOR bringing back every abducted Lebanese person in every country, but if those people keep behaving like cunts, and not allow me to travel to work since my country is shit and i cant work here, i’m gonna kill a few
Ull have the chi3a of jbeil closing the road there 😉
They r everywhere
i’m not shi3eh, and i dont like this.. are u telling me ma fi wala wa7ad sinneh nawreh? wala wa7ad marouneh nawreh??
el nawraneh wel habal ma bta3rif din!
i know a lot of shi3a people who hate the nawar who are giving their sect a bad name..
Where are those chi3a ? Let them speak up
Either they are a small minority or too scared to speak up.
are you serious? are you telling me you still haven’t met 1 shi3i person who hates both the Hizb and the Harakeh?
are they afraid to speak up? probably.. case in point, 3oqab saqr
As I said, minority ! I know a lot of educated reasonable chi3a but sadly when it comes to taking sides, they will always choose the hizb either because it’s the safe thing to do or because it will always be power over reason!
No kellon nawar bass till now its the chi3as nawar blocking the airport road. Tari2 el matar ya mama tari2 el matar….
*DELETED*
Cool off your racist attitudes!!!
The landing strip in the image is the Halat one, used during the 80s by the Lebanese Air Force Hawker Hunter. It was a section of the Highway between Halat and Jbeil.
As for Hamat, it’s a military runway with no possibility whatsoever to be transformed into a civil Airport.
Only Ryak and Qleiaat Airports could theoritcally be used for civil aviation.
Thank you.
Rayak is majority chiite with big influence for Hizbollah so it’s not really a valid solution
Please stop this racist attitude!!!!!!!! Najib is that an acceptable conversation in this blog, you always say to keep politics outside this blog, what kind of conversations is that!!! You are generalizing and accusing a whole community for what 100 of people have done!!!
I think what you are talking about in the article is Hamat airport (also known as “Wujah Al Hajar air base” or “Pierre Gemayel Internatinal Airport”). The photo, on the other hand, is Halat airstrip (HaLat, not HaMat!), it is a part of the Beirut-Byblos highway transformed into the runway by the Lebanese army during the war.
It’s funny this would be a road transformed into an airport. Sounds like a good answer to blocking the airport road. Let’s see them block that.
On a serious note, many countries have plans to turn highways into military runways in the event of a war, and they practice for it sometimes.
Hammat is not a good alternative, too short a runway, inclined etc etc… plus the village roads runs across the center of the runway, you don’t abou el zouz to be passing with his Donkey while AF 3505 is on final approach…
anyway, the Kleiat airport in the north and Riyak in Baalbeck are both candidates for commercial landings and take offs, however, both these airports will be closed in their own right as well…
if they ever consider to actually use the above two, then the Christians would need their own airport, just in case shit happens… you never know, you can never be too prepared….