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Beirut’s runway hotspot Air transport activity is continuing to grow, with figures released last month by the Beirut Rafiq Hariri International Airport showing passenger numbers in Lebanon increased by 11 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of 2010. The total number of passengers (arrivals, departures, transit) reached some 3,691,000, reflecting the 16.8 percent year-on-year growth in total flights, which reached 43,360. The national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), constituted nearly a third of incoming flights with 12,545 of the total. Royal Jordanian followed with 1,932 flights, trailed by Etihad Airways (1,247), National Air Services (1,199), Emirates Airlines (1,168) and Turkish Airlines (994). The United Arab Emirates constituted the largest portion of flights to the country with 6,365, or 14.7 percent of the total. In other airline news, Bloomberg reported last month that the governor of Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, Riad Salameh, has decided to indefinitely postpone the