| Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: GZA – ICAO: LVGZ | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Palestinian National Authority | ||
| Location | Gaza Strip | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 320 ft / 98 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 01/19 | 10,091 | 3,076 | Asphalt (severely damaged) |
Yasser Arafat International Airport (Arabic: مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي Maṭār Yāsir 'Arafāt ad-Dawli) (IATA: GZA, ICAO: LVGZ), formerly Gaza International Airport and Dahaniya International Airport, is located in the Gaza Strip, in Rafah close to the Egyptian border.
It is owned, and was operated, by the Palestinian Authority, and served as the home airport for Palestinian Airlines. The airport was able to handle 700,000 passengers per year and operated 24 hours and 364 days a year (closed on Yom Kippur). The airport opened in 1998, but it closed in 2001 after being severely damaged by Israeli military forces. Its destruction left Gaza Airstrip as the only serviceable runway in the Gaza Strip.
On July 22, 2010, 7,203 Gazan children between the ages of 6 and 15 participated in setting a new Guinness World Record for the simultaneous dribbling of basketballs on the airport's undamaged tarmac ramp.[1][2] Three weeks later, in August 2010, the tarmac ramp was dismantled by Palestinians seeking stones and recycled building materials for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the Gaza War.[3][4]
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The airport was built with funding from Japan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Germany and designed by Moroccan architects (modeled after Casablanca airport) and engineers funded by Morocco's King Hassan II. The total cost was $86 million. After a year of construction, it opened on 24 November 1998; attendees at the opening ceremony included Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton. At the time, the opening of the airport was described as evidence of progress toward Palestinian statehood.[5] The airport was twinned with Mohammed V International Airport, in Casablanca, Morocco.
The radar station and control tower were destroyed by Israel Defense Forces aircraft in 2001 after the start of the al-Aqsa Intifada, and bulldozers cut the runway apart in January 2002.[6][7] From 2001 to 2006, airport staff still manned the ticket counters and baggage areas,[7] although no aircraft flew into or out of the airport during that period. The closest public airport in the area is El Arish International Airport in Egypt. The only remaining runway in Gaza after 2002 is that of the Gaza Airstrip.
The airport has one runway of 3080 m x 60 m, but it is no longer operational due to extensive damage to the north and middle sections of the runway by the Israeli Defence Forces. Some of the taxiways are damaged, but the apron did not sustain heavy damage. Locals have destroyed parts of the runway to get to the gravel beneath it to sell as building material.
The total area of the airport is stated in local units as "2,350 dunams", or 235 hectares (2.35 km2).[8]
The main terminal building is a two-story 4,000-square-metre (0.40 ha) Arab Islamic designed building which is decorated with Moroccan tile, features glass windows framed by arches, and has state-of-the-art equipment. A control tower faces the runway and apron.
The airport was staffed by a total of 400 personnel.
There were no ramps for passengers to disembark directly to the terminal. Stairs were brought out to the planes parked on the apron.
Facilities within the terminal building included:
The airport included 19 other buildings:
The airport was linked by buses and taxis to the rest of the Gaza Strip.
A list of airlines once operating at the airport:
Air Traffic Control at the airport was assumed by the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority, but traffic to and from the airport was also under the jurisdiction of the Israel South Control.