Baghdad airport
| Baghdad International Airport مطار بغداد الدولي |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | ORBI | ||
| IATA code | BGW | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 35 m (115 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 16 km west of Baghdad | ||
| Basic data | |||
| operator | Iraqi Government, Royal Air Force | ||
| Employees | Iraqi Government, United States Air Force | ||
| Runways | |||
| 15R / 33L | 3301 m × 45 m concrete | ||
| 15L / 33R | 4000 m × 60 m concrete | ||
The Baghdad airport ( Arabic مطار بغداد الدولي, DMG Maṭār Baġdād ad-duwalī ; formerly Saddam International Airport ) is the largest Iraqi airport and is located in a suburb 16 km west of downtown Baghdad .
history
Before 1991
The Baghdad International Airport was built using French companies between 1979 and 1982 for 900 million dollars built. Designed to serve as both a civil and military airfield, the airport can handle up to 7.5 million passengers per year and aircraft of all sizes. The passenger terminal consists of three gates named after three ancient Iraqi cities: Babylon , Samarra and Nineveh . Today they are simply called A, B and C.
The airport also has its own VIP terminal, which is luxuriously furnished and has a decorated lounge, conference rooms and bedrooms. This terminal is used to receive foreign statesmen and important people. The airport is the base for Iraqi Airways . Other international airlines used to sit here.
1991-2003
Most civilian flights were suspended in 1991 when the UN issued restrictions on Iraq because of the invasion of Kuwait. Because of the establishment of no-fly zones by the USA and Great Britain , Iraqi Airways could only fly within Iraq at certain times. Flights transporting medicine, unskilled workers and members of the government could only occasionally be accepted from abroad. The Royal Jordanian Airlines flew regularly from Amman to Baghdad. Those planes could refuel for free in Baghdad, which made the route very lucrative.
President George W. Bush paid a surprise visit to the airport's Bob Hope dining facility on November 27, 2003 , on Thanksgiving Day , and attended a dinner with the staff. The food system and the other facilities of the coalition of the willing on the eastern side of the airport were dismantled a short time later and the airport was then handed over to the Iraqis.
Development since 2004
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The airport was officially returned to civilian administration on August 25, 2004. The airport's home carrier is Iraqi Airways . Royal Jordanian currently flies to Amman, while FedEx and DHL transport civil and military goods. The Czech freight company Euro Air Cargo is also planning to fly to Baghdad in the future.
The operation is still endangered by Iraqi insurgents. Airplanes landing or taking off use the "corkscrew maneuver" in which they land or take off in a spiral shape directly over the airport, preventing them from coming within range of small weapons and radio-controlled missiles. In 2003, a DHL cargo plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile shortly after take-off . Despite severe damage, the aircraft made a successful emergency landing.
When the Americans and British launched their attack on Fallujah on November 8, 2004 , Prime Minister Iyad Allawi closed the airport for 48 hours to prevent insurgents from leaving the country.
Iraqi Airways currently offers flights between Baghdad and several cities in the Middle East. In May 2010 Lufthansa announced that it would be flying to Baghdad from Munich four times a week from September 30th . However, this project was postponed indefinitely, the reason given by Lufthansa was a lack of interest in the connection.
Since June 8, 2011, Austrian Airlines has operated a flight connection from Vienna to Baghdad three times a week. The airline already had this route in its flight program in 1982, but had to discontinue it in 1990 due to the Kuwait crisis.
Airlines and Destinations
In the meantime, several companies are again offering regular scheduled flights to and from Baghdad. Primarily regional destinations are served, including Amman , Dubai and Tehran , but there are also connections to Europe, for example to London and Stockholm . Iraqi Airways currently has flights from Baghdad to Frankfurt and Düsseldorf once a week.
safety
The following coalition institutions formed the Victory Base Complex at the airport: Camp Cropper , Camp Dublin, Camp Liberty, Sather Air Base, Camp Slayer, Camp Striker, Camp Victory and the Logistics Base Seitz.
Since July 2003 the civil areas of the airport have been secured by civil companies. From July 2003 to June 2004, the American company Custer Battles , which had a contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority , secured the airport. After their contract expired and the Coalition Provisional Authority was dissolved, the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation awarded the contract to the British security company Global Strategies Group .
Due to disputes over the payment of the security company, the airport had to be closed twice for 48 hours each. In the second case, Iraqi troops were sent to take over the tasks of the security company. The Iraqi government then agreed to pay half the bill.
The airport grounds are currently guarded by a private crew of 500 Iraqis and Gurkhas . Nicknamed the Route Irish , the main road to Baghdad was known to be one of the most dangerous roads in the world, but today there is a strong military presence all the way to the Green Zone and attacks have become rare.
Incidents
- December 15, 1976: Bomb attack: 10 dead, 285 injured.
- December 25, 1986: Iraqi Airways Flight 163 - a Boeing 737 - to Amman was hijacked. The machine later crashed over Saudi Arabia , killing 63 people.
- November 29, 1987: A bomb brought on board by two North Korean agents explodes over the Andaman Sea on board Korean Airlines flight 858. All 115 people on board the Boeing 707-3B5C were killed. The flight was on the route Baghdad-Abu Dhabi-Bangkok-Seoul.
- January 3, 2020: The airport moved into the focus of the global public after Qasem Soleimani (long-time major general of the Iranian Al-Quds unit ), Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis (deputy head of the Iraqi people's mobilization units ) and eight high officials at a US Drone attack were killed.
Trivia
- Baghdad Airport plays a relatively small role in the Left Behind novel series , where it serves as a transition point for Nicolai Carpathia's flights from around the world to New Babylon. Even so, the name of the airport is not explicitly mentioned and it is unclear whether Saddam Hussein's government is in power or has been ousted by the events of the series.
Individual evidence
- ↑ epublish.skvely.org - tato doména je registrována a spravována společností Skvělý.CZ
- ↑ rp-online: For the first time in 20 years back to Baghdad ( Memento of the original from May 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 28, 2010
- ↑ rp-online: Lufthansa postpones direct flights Munich-Baghdad , 9 September 2010
- ↑ Austrian Airlines: Austrian Airlines are flying to Baghdad again. Retrieved June 19, 2011 .
- ↑ at Custerbattles.com ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2005 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Contract Quagmire in Iraq
Web links
Wikinews: Baghdad Airport - in the news