Yasser Arafat International Airport
مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي Yasser Arafat International Airport |
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Characteristics | |
ICAO code | LVGZ |
IATA code | GZA |
Coordinates | |
Height above MSL | 98 m (322 ft ) |
Transport links | |
Distance from the city center | 5 km south of Rafah, 40 km southwest of Gaza (city) |
Basic data | |
opening | 1998 |
operator | Palestinian Authority |
Terminals | 1 |
Passengers | 0 |
Air freight | 0 |
Flight movements |
0 |
Start-and runway | |
01/19 | 3076 m of asphalt |
The Yasser Arafat International Airport ( english Yasser Arafat International Airport , Arabic مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي Maṭār Yāsir ʿArafāt ad-duwalī ) is the only, but badly damaged, airport for commercial aircraft in the Palestinian Territories . It is located in the Gaza Strip in the municipality of Dahaniye on the border with Egypt . The airport has been closed since February 2001.
history
The airport was officially opened as Gaza International Airport (GIA) on December 14, 1998 in the presence of US President Bill Clinton . However, the first landing took place on November 24th. It was built with funds from Germany , Spain , Saudi Arabia , Egypt and Japan .
The Palestinians were allowed to build their own airport in the Oslo Accords and became the national symbol of Palestinian independence. In Israel, the size of the airport and the loss of full control of entry into the Palestinian territories were a cause for concern. The travelers were processed under Israeli supervision, but by Palestinian personnel.
The airport was closed by Israel during the Second Intifada in February 2001 and shortly afterwards largely destroyed by the Israeli armed forces . Eventually the runway was ripped open on January 11, 2002. This was in retaliation for the deaths of four Israeli soldiers two days earlier and on the suspicion that weapons were being smuggled into the Gaza Strip by air, even in the private jet of Yasser Arafat , which was allowed to use the airport even after it was closed.
The runway has not been restored since then; however, the remaining systems have been partially repaired and are constantly being serviced. However, attempts to reopen it were stopped by Israel. The airport was the home of Palestinian Airlines , the airline has moved to Al Arish Airport in Egypt .
The airport was only renamed after Yasser Arafat after his death on November 11, 2004.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jordan Post article of November 25, 1998 ( Memento of July 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ New York Times, August 15, 1996
- ^ The Independent, June 11, 2002
- ^ Gaza airport runway ripped up by Israel
- ↑ Spiegel report from November 7, 2000
- ↑ MSNBC report, May 19, 2005
- ^ BBC report of April 15, 2005
- ↑ Flightless in Gaza: Palestinian airport suffers terminal illness