BEIRUT, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Number of passengers at Rafic Hariri International Airport increased by 8.32 percent to 4.8 million in the first seven months of 2018 compared with the same period last year, reported Friday by the National News Agency.

"This rise is caused by an increase in the number of expatriates arriving in Lebanon in addition to Syrians coming from Turkey and other European countries," a source at the airport told Xinhua.

"There are also tourists mainly from Europe and the Gulf," he added.

The statement said that passengers in July increased by 5 percent to 1,022,467 compared with the same period last year.

"This prompted Lebanese authorities and security officials to look for ways that would minimize travel procedures for passengers especially prior to the pilgrimage period," it said.

According to the statement, the number of departures increased by 1 percent in July to reach 457,485 while the number of commercial flights increased by 4.15 percent to 7,254.