Baghdad International Airport

Baghdad International Airport مطار بغداد الدولي Matar Baġdād ad-Dowaly
IATA: BGW – ICAO: ORBI BGW Location of airport in Iraq
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Operator	Iraqi Government
Location	Baghdad, Iraq
Hub for	Iraqi Airways Al-Naser Airlines
Elevation AMSL	114 ft / 35 m
Coordinates	33°15′45″N 044°14′04″E / 33.26250°N 44.23444°E / 33.26250; 44.23444
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 15R/33L 10,830 3,301 Concrete 15L/33R 13,124 4,000 Concrete
Statistics (2009)
Total passengers 7,500,000 (estimate)
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Baghdad International Airport (IATA: BGW, ICAO: ORBI) (Arabic: مطار بغداد الدولي‎), is Iraq's largest 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.

History

Pre-1987

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 1987. The airport at the time was opened as Saddam International Airport, bearing the name of the then-president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.^[3]

1987–2000

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.

2001–2004

Inside view of the terminal in 2003, showing an abandoned and nonfunctional FIDS (note the red and white icon for the long-defunct East German airline Interflug in the fourth row from the bottom), in front of empty check-in desks and passport control

In April 2003, US-led forces invaded Iraq and changed the airport's name 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

The current entrance to Baghdad International Airport, 2007

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Sather Air Base or Camp Sather was a United States Air Force base on the west side of the airport. 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.

Airport developments

Airline service

• The airport officially reverted to civilian control on 25 August 2004. Iraqi Airways resumed regular flights, and courier carriers also began flights.

• On October 2008, Turkish Airlines launched nonstop service to Baghdad from Istanbul Atatürk International Airport with three weekly flights.

• On 9 October 2009, Middle East Airlines announced flights to Beirut from Baghdad. Flights will operate 4x weekly from 29 October and soon after upgraded to daily service. They will use Airbus A320 aircraft for the flights.

• On 17 April 2010, Etihad Airways announced they will launch passenger flights to Baghdad from Abu Dhabi from 26 April.^[6]

• In June 2011, EgyptAir announced the launch of flights connecting Cairo International Airport to Baghdad from 27 August 2011. The airline previously served the city in the early 1990s. Flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft.

• On 8 June 2011, Austrian Airlines resumed to Vienna, Austria after a 21-year hiatus.

• On June 2011, Emirates again announced the launch of flights connecting Dubai International Airport to Baghdad from 13 November 2011.

• On 7 June 2012, Qatar Airways launched direct flights from Doha, four times a week.

• On 16 February 2013, Iraqi Airways resumed flights from Baghdad International Airport to Kuwait International Airport. This comes after a 22-year hiatus.

• On 6 March 2013, Iraqi Airways resumed direct flights from Gatwick Airport to Baghdad International Airport, flights will operate twice a week. This comes after a 23-year hiatus.

• On 25 April 2013, Iraqi Airways resumed flights to Frankfurt Airport with a Boeing 777-200LR.

• On 22 September 2013, Iraqi Airways announced that it would start flying to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Bangkok.

• On 14 April 2014, Iraqi Airways announced that it would launch flights from Baghdad to Vienna International Airport.

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.^[7]

Airlines and destinations

A flying carpet sculpture on the wall at BIAP. (2011)

Passenger

Cargo

Incidents and accidents

• On 25 December 1986, Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-200, flying from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan, was hijacked and damaged by a bomb in flight. The bomb exploded in the cockpit causing the plane to crash in Saudi Arabia, killing 63 of 106 on board.

• On 29 November 1987, Korean Air Flight 858, a Boeing 707-3B5C, was destroyed by a bomb over the Andaman Sea, the bomb was left by two North Korean agents who boarded in Baghdad but got off in Abu Dhabi. The plane was flying the Baghdad-Abu Dhabi-Bangkok-Seoul flight. All 104 passengers and 11 crew died.

• On 22 November 2003, a European Air Transport Airbus A300B4 freighter, registered OO-DLL, operating on behalf of DHL Aviation, was hit by an SA-14 'Grail' missile shortly after take-off. The airplane lost hydraulic pressure and thus the controls. After extending the landing gear to create more drag, the crew piloted the plane using differences in engine thrust and landed the plane with minimal further damage. All 3 crew survived. Civilians planes routinely perform corkscrew landings to minimise the risk of damage from surface weapons.^[11]

• On 26 January 2015, a flydubai Boeing 737-800 on a Dubai to Baghdad service, was hit by small arms fire on approach to Baghdad International Airport with 154 passengers on board. The plane landed safely.^[12]

See also

• List of United Kingdom Military installations used during Operation Telic

References

External links

Media related to Baghdad International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Baghdad Airport Arrivals and Departures
• Globalsecurity.org profile
• Christian Science Monitor article on reconstruction, October 2003
• Extensive photographs of Baghdad Airport – 12.07.2004
• Accident history for BGW at Aviation Safety Network

Main airports in Iraq Baghdad Basra Erbil Mosul Najaf Sulaimaniyah