Airport type Public / Military 15R/33L 10,830 Code SDA Phone +964 790 140 3537 | Operator Iraqi Government Elevation AMSL 114 ft / 35 m Elevation 34 m | |
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Hub for Iraqi AirwaysAl-Naser AirlinesFlyBaghdad | ||
Baghdad international airport expansion project fs2004
Baghdad International Airport (IATA: BGW, ICAO: ORBI), previously Saddam International Airport (IATA: SDA, ICAO: ORBS) (Arabic: مطار بغداد الدولي), is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about 16 km (9.9 mi) west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Iraq's national airline, Iraqi Airways.
Contents
- Baghdad international airport expansion project fs2004
- landing in baghdad international airport
- Pre 1982
- 19822003
- 20032005
- 2005present
- Military use
- Airline service
- Expansion plans
- Passenger
- Incidents and accidents
- References
landing in baghdad international airport
Pre-1982
The present airport was developed under a consortium led by French company, Spie Batignolles, under an agreement made in 1979. The Iran/Iraq war delayed full opening of the airport until 1982. The airport at the time was opened as Saddam International Airport, bearing the name of the former Iraqi Dictator, Saddam Hussein.
1982–2003
Most of Baghdad's civil flights stopped in 1991, when the United Nations imposed restrictions on Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Because of the no-fly zone imposed on Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom, Iraqi Airways was only able to continue domestic flights for limited periods. Internationally, Baghdad was able to receive occasional charter flights carrying medicine, aid workers, and government officials. Royal Jordanian Airlines operated regular flights from Amman to Baghdad.
2003–2005
In April 2003, US-led forces invaded Iraq and changed the airport's name from Saddam International Airport to Baghdad International Airport. The ICAO code for the airport consequently changed from ORBS to ORBI; the IATA code subsequently switched from SDA to BGW, which previously referred to all Baghdad airports and before that to Al Muthana Airport when Saddam was in power.
Civilian control of the airport was returned to the Iraqi Government in 2004.
2005–present
Terminal C has been refreshed with three active gate areas for carriers operating from the airport.
Baghdad Airport Road, connecting the airport with the Green Zone, which was once a dangerous route full of IEDs, has been refurbished with palm trees, manicured lawns, and a fountain, with Turkish assistance.
Military use
Within the airport there is a separate enclave called the New Al Muthana Air Base where No. 23 Squadron IqAF is based with three Lockheed C-130E Hercules transport aircraft and the home to a number of Sukhoi Su-25's.
Sather Air Base or Camp Sather was a United States Air Force base on the west side of the airport occupied from 2003 to 2011 during the Iraq War. It was named in memory of Combat Controller Staff Sergeant Scott Sather, the first enlisted Airman to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sather was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for his leadership of a 24th Special Tactics Squadron reconnaissance task force during the initial stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Airline service
Expansion plans
On 18 May 2010, plans were unveiled for an expansion of Baghdad International Airport, which will double its capacity to 15 million passengers per year. The expansion, to be funded by foreign investors, will include the construction of three new terminals and the refurbishment of the existing three terminals, which will each accommodate 2.5 million passengers annually.
Passenger
Notes
1: Iraqi Airways' flights between Baghdad and Gatwick stop in Malmö. However, the airline does not have the rights to transport passengers solely between Baghdad and Malmö.