Travellers flying out of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport from today could be in for a smoother journey as the newly renovated and expanded departure terminal has opened.
Designed to reduce passenger congestion at the Lebanese airport, upgrades include a new baggage handling system that is set to speed up check-in.
The official opening ceremony will take place later today, Tuesday August 20 and is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
The renovated area opens after many passengers have taken to social media recently to express frustration at the lengthy queues and overcrowding. Last month, Lebanese pop star Nancy Ajram slammed the airport's arrivals process in a series of tweets, saying there was a "neglect" of mothers and infants.
Here is a look at the new terminal:
The video from Lebanese Planet Spotters shows the new security area in the departure terminal at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Up until now, anyone flying out of the airport had to go through body and luggage scans before they reached the check-in area.
The new baggage handling system will help reduce congestion by scanning passengers' luggage underground, after the check-in process has been completed. This will replace the previously used pre-check-in scans.
The opening of the new terminal expansion will be welcomed by passengers, many of whom have had to stand in endless airport queues in recent weeks.
Passenger numbers at Rafic Hariri International Airport reached record highs last week as the airport operated at double capacity.
"The number of passengers has reached 23,500 passengers and is expected to exceed 25,000 in the next two days", tweeted @yousseffenianos, Beirut's minister of public works and transportation.
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
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