Popular Airport | Abbottabad Airport |
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Popular Airlines | |
Approximate Flight Duration | 4 hour 20 min |
Approximate Travel Distance | 3456 Km |
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.
Since there is no active airport in Abbottabad, you can reach Abbottabad by using Benazir Bhutto International Airport which is located approximately 150 km away from the city. After landing at the airport, you can rent a car for a fast and comfortable travel to your destination. If you prefer a more budget-friendly means of transportation, you can get on an intercity bus or use a train.
The buses going to many different points of the city depart from the bus station located outside the airport. You can get information about the bus routes and departure times by visiting the information desk at the airport. Ticket prices are affordable but travelling to the city by bus takes a long time.
There are a few different car rental companies offering car rental service at the airport. If you rent a car for your transportation, you can reach the city center of Abbottabad in about two hours by driving in the northeast direction by connecting to the highway N35 from the highway M1. When driving, you should be careful about the drivers who do not obey the traffic rules and you should remember that the traffic can be sometimes too heavy.
You can come to the Islamabad Railway Station by getting on a bus or taxi at the airport and then travel to Abbottabad by getting on a train here. If you get on a taxi, make sure to bargain on the fare before getting on any taxi. In this way, you can reduce your transportation costs. Train ticket prices are very affordable but keep in mind that trains can be very crowded.