| Popular Airport | San Antonio Intl. Airport |
|---|---|
| Popular Airlines | |
| Approximate Flight Duration | 14 hour 20 min |
| Approximate Travel Distance | 7130 Miles |
Beirut, the capital and largest city of Lebanon, offers limited but comfortable transportation facilities between the city center and the airport, as well as the historical and natural beauties it has. You can be at the airport in a very short time with taxis or private cars that you can easily find in the city center.
Since there is no official transportation vehicle to the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, which is the only civil airport in the country since 1954 and was established for the replacement of the much smaller Bir Hassan Airfield, taxis become compulsory for passengers. Taxis are also open for bargaining for the average amount you will pay for the travel of about 15 minutes. In the city where taxi drivers speak French and English, taxis are air-conditioned and comfortable.
It is also a good option to go to the airport from the city center by private vehicle. Because in Beirut having a population of 1.5 million, it is extremely normal to encounter a traffic like in Istanbul. There are many alternatives but 2 major roads directly connect the city to the airport. The first one is the road that is connected to the airport via Ahmad Mukhtar Beyhum and Hafez Al-Assad street.
The second one is the road arriving at the airport through the Gamal Abdel Nasser Street, Ruhollah Khomeini Street and Umar ibn Al-Khattab Street. By using the either road, you can arrive at the airport within 15 minutes and can leave your vehicle to the parking lot with a capacity of 2350 vehicles.
The airport, which hosts 6 million passengers per year, aims to host 35 million passengers annually as a result of the developments in the process up to 2035. It also offers free internet service for airport passengers. The only airport of Lebanon, the country having the most non-Muslim population in the Middle East, has places of worship for every religion.
There are a few cafes and restaurants as well as a Japanese restaurant right now at the terminals. The terminals are expected to have more facilities when they are expanded and new terminals are opened in the future.
The airport, which welcome millions of mainly European tourists as well as Lebanese living abroad, has a very interesting Beirut Duty Free. There is also a car gallery in Beirut Duty Free.
It is possible to reach the city center from San Antonio International Airport in 20-35 minutes under normal traffic conditions.
Taxi, rental cars, hotel shuttles and shuttle buses will take you to the city center in a shorter time while you only lose a maximum of 15 minutes if you prefer taking bus. You can evaluate your transfer options by deciding whether time and comfort or cost is more important to you.
The cost of going to the city center from the airport by taxi is 27-29 dollars. If you are a crowded group or if you have a lot of baggage, you can ask for a bigger taxi. There are taxi stops at the exit of both terminals. You journey by taxi lasts 20 minutes on average.
You can download Uber&Lift or GetMe applications to your smart phone and you can benefit from the shared-car opportunity in order to get to the city center at affordable prices. Please note that the prices may vary by the company and departure time. The shared cars pick their passengers from B-19 and B-20 points at the end of terminal B.
There are 9 car rental companies in the airport. At the baggage reclaim area of terminal A, you can also benefit from toll-free calls to contact the car rental companies. You can reach the city center in less than 20 minutes by following the US-281 S motorway. There are also 18 different limousine rental companies at the airport for those who prefer to travel more comfortably.
The Super Shuttle company offers private shuttle service from the airport to the hotels and main points in the city center. This service is the most expensive way to travel from San Antonia International Airport to the city center and other parts of the city if you are travelling as 2 or more people.
It costs 19$ per person to go to the city center with shuttle service. If you want to go to a point outside the city center and if this is not a hotel, the fee goes up to 29 dollars. Therefore, if you are planning to go to the River Walk or the bus station, it would be more cost-effective for you to give the name of a hotel nearby.
It is possible to reach the city center by taking the bus number 5. The bus departs every 30 minutes and reaches the city center in 35 minutes under normal traffic conditions. The one-way ticket price for adults only costs 1.30$. The bus service starts at 5 o’clock in the morning and continue until 10 o’clock in the night. Many hotels in the city center are just within walking distance from the bus stop; so, bus is one of the most commonly preferred means of transportation.
One important thing to keep in mind is that the bus number changes from 5 to 30 when it enters the city center; the airport passengers do not have to pay an extra transfer fare. In addition, you can also get a daily ticket for 2.75$ if you need to board the bus again for the rest of the day.
The hotels around the airport offer free of charge shuttle services for their guests and you can benefit from this service by informing your request in advance. However, the hotels in the city center do not offer such a service. Still, they can arrange a shuttle service for you at the airport upon your arrival if you request in advance.
