Baghdad International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baghdad International Airport
مطار بغداد الدولي

IATA: SDA – ICAO: ORBI
Summary
Airport type Military / Public
Operator United States Air Force / Iraqi Government
Location Baghdad, Iraq
Elevation AMSL 114 ft / 35 m
Coordinates 33°15′45″N 044°14′04″E / 33.2625, 44.23444
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15R/33L 10,830 3,301 Concrete
15L/33R 13,124 4,000 Concrete
Source: DAFIF[1][2]
Inside view of the terminal, showing an abandoned FIDS in front of empty check-in desks and passport control.
Inside view of the terminal, showing an abandoned FIDS in front of empty check-in desks and passport control.
Former Saddam International Airport
Former Saddam International Airport

Baghdad International Airport (IATA: SDA, ICAO: ORBI) (Arabic:مطار بغداد الدولي; , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about 16 km (10 miles) west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate.


Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-1991

Baghdad International Airport was constructed with the assistance of French firms between 1979 and 1982 at a cost of over US$900 million.

Designed to accommodate both civil and military operations, Baghdad International can handle up to 7.5 million passengers per year in aircraft of all sizes. The passenger terminal consists of three gate areas. These were originally named after the cities of the ancient empires that once existed in present-day Iraq: Babylon, Samarra, and Nineveh. They are now simply called A, B and C.

The airport also had its own VIP terminal, which had a luxuriously furnished and decorated lounge, conference room and bedroom. This terminal is a VIP terminal, to welcome foreign leaders and other people of significance.

It is the hub for Iraq's international airline, Iraqi Airways, and it was once served by several other international airlines. On December 25, 1986, Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737 flying from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan, was hijacked. It later crashed in Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people.

[edit] 1991-2003

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. The Royal Jordanian planes were allowed to refuel free of charge in Iraq. This made this route very lucrative for the airline.


The most visible and notable building in this area was the Bob Hope Dining Facility, a large, white, fabric-skinned, elongated dome. President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to the Bob Hope on Thanksgiving day, November 27, 2003 and had dinner with the servicemen present.


The Bob Hope Dining Facility and the entire coalition installation on the eastern side of the airport terminal area was dismantled and the area abandoned prior to the 2004 turnover of the airport to the Iraqi people.

Terminal C, one of three gate areas, has been spruced up with new potted plants and polished floors. The duty-free shop has reopened as well, yet the US military posted at Baghdad have restrictions in using the facilities by General Order No. 1. There are still renovations on-going throughout the airport to return it to its former self.

[edit] Current air services status

The airport officially reverted to civilian control on August 25, 2004. Iraqi Airways and Royal Jordanian Airlines currently operate regular flights to Amman, Jordan, and FedEx and DHL operate civilian and military cargo services. However, the airport's perimeter is regularly threatened by Iraqi insurgents; aircraft taking off and landing at the airport use a "corkscrew maneuver," a spiraling pattern of climbing and descending directly over the airport to avoid coming within range of small arms and missiles on the ground. A DHL Airbus cargo plane was hit by a surface to air missile shortly after takeoff from the airport in 2003, in what was later known as the DHL shootdown incident. The aircraft performed a successful emergency landing with serious damage to its left wing.

Iraqi Airways at BIAP in 2008
Iraqi Airways at BIAP in 2008

Since July 2003, the civilian areas of the airport have been secured by civilian contractors. From July 2003 to June 2004, an American firm, Custer Battles, secured the airport under a contract from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). At the completion of their contract, coinciding with the dissolution of the CPA, the Iraq Ministry of Transportation awarded a contract to the British security firm Global RSL.[3] The terminal area is currently secured by a private force of 500 Iraqi and Gurkha guards. The main road from the airport to downtown Baghdad, nicknamed "Route Irish," was infamous as one of the most dangerous routes in the world - today however there is a heavy military presence across the whole route all the way to the International (Green) Zone and attacks are rare.

On November 8, 2004, as part of a general US and Iraqi assault against Fallujah, Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi closed the airport for 48 hours, with the stated reason of preventing insurgents from leaving the country.

On April 29, 2005, Air Scotland announced its intentions to begin a Glasgow-London Stansted-Irbil-Baghdad service. Although initial intentions were to begin this route in November 2005 with Tristar jetliners, this service never started and Air Scotland is now defunct.

There have been two 48 hour closures due to pay disputes between the British Contracting firm that provides security and the Iraqi Transportation Ministry[4]. The second time this occurred, Iraqi troops were sent in to fill the roles left behind and the Iraqi Government agreed to pay 50% of the bill.

Czech carrier Euro Air Cargo plan to launch service in the future [5]

[edit] Coalition installations

The following is an alphabetical list of installations within the Victory Base Complex:

[edit] Incidents and accidents

[edit] In popular culture

Baghdad International Airport plays a relatively minor part in the early Left Behind series of books, where it serves as a transitory point for Nicolae Carpathia's flights from points around the world to New Babylon. However, the name of the airport is never explicitly stated, and it is unclear if Saddam Hussein's regime is in power or was removed during the course of events in the series.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Airport information for ORBI at World Aero Data. Source: DAFIF.
  2. ^ Airport information for SDA at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ [3]

[edit] External links