Damascus airport
| مطار دمشق الدولي Damascus International Airport |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | OSDI |
| IATA code | DAM |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 616 m (2021 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 25 km southeast of Damascus |
| Street | Airport Road |
| Local transport | Taxi, bus |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1973 |
| operator | Directorate General of Civil Aviation |
| surface | 15,794 ha |
| Passengers | 3.2 million (2004) |
| Runways | |
| 05R / 23L | 3600 m × 45 m asphalt |
| 05L / 23R | 3000 m × 45 m asphalt |
The Damascus Airport ( Arabic مطار دمشق الدولي, DMG Maṭār Dimašq ad-Dawlī ; IATA code : DAM , ICAO code : OSDI ) is an international airport near Damascus , the capital of Syria . In addition to the civil area, the airport also has a military area. The airport opened in 1973 and is the busiest of Syria's three international airports. In 2000, the airport recorded 1.7 million passengers with 24,500 take-offs and landings. In 2004 the airport was used by 3.2 million passengers.
It was closed in December 2012 in the course of the civil war in Syria . Most of the companies had previously ceased operations to Damascus. In 2013 and 2014, Syrian Arab Airlines was the de facto only airline to continue to fly irregularly to Damascus. Most of the air traffic goes to Beirut Airport .
Since then, there have been regular flights to the Arab region, operated by Cham Wings Airlines , FlyDamas and Syrian Arab Airlines , among others . The main destinations are Baghdad , Basra , Riyadh , Kuwait , Doha , Jedda , Abu Dhabi and Tehran .
capacity
Before the civil war, the airport had a capacity of 3.5 million passengers. There were plans and negotiations with French companies to modernize and expand the airport. By 2014 the capacity was to be increased to 5 million and by 2020 to 10 million passengers, but this could not be achieved in this time frame due to the civil war.
location
The distance from the city center past the suburb of Jaramana to the airport to the east is around 30 kilometers. State shuttle buses run regularly from Baramka in the center of the new town.
Infrastructure
In the terminal there is a duty-free shop, which is known for its low prices, an internet café , several souvenir shops, three restaurants and a business / first-class lounge .
The airport is the main hub for Syrian Arab Airlines , the national airline of Syria, and Cham Wings Airlines . The airport was also served by many other airlines from Africa , Asia and Europe .
Incidents
- On August 20, 1975 at 1:13 local time (23:13 UTC on August 19) an Ilyushin Il-62 of the Czechoslovakian ČSA ( aircraft registration OK-DBF ) was flown off-road on a scheduled flight from Prague via Damascus to Tehran . On the approach to the stopover in Damascus, the aircraft flew into a hill approx. 17 kilometers from the runway in good weather. Errors in the setting of the altimeter are believed to be the cause . In this CFIT ( Controlled flight into terrain ), 126 of the 128 people on board were killed, including the Polish theater director Konrad Swinarski .
- On March 23, 1978, a Tupolev Tu-154 of the Balkan Bulgarian Airlines (LZ-BTB) flew on the approach to Damascus Airport 23 kilometers northeast of it in mountainous terrain. All 4 crew members, the only occupants, were killed.
See also
Web links
- Damascus International Airport (DAM)
- Pictures of the airport on the official website of the Syrian Ministry of Tourism
- Flight information on syrialive.net
- World Aero Data Airport Information
Individual evidence
- ↑ Official government information
- ↑ Damascus under siege , Salon.com, December 11, 2012
- ↑ Leaving Damascus: Syrian Air Travel Sinks Under Sanctions , Al-Akhbar.com of July 31, 2013
- ↑ Official government information ( Memento from May 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Official government information (arab.)
- ↑ Passenger Forum
- ^ Accident report IL-62 OK-DBF , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on June 24, 2020.
- ^ Accident report Tu-154 LZ-BTB , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on June 23, 2020.