Erbil International Airport

Firrokexaney Nêwdewlletîy Hewlêr

فڕۆکه‌خانه‌ی نێوده‌وڵه‌تیی هه‌ولێر
مطار اربيل الدولي
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorIraqi Government[1]
ServesErbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
LocationErbil
Hub for
Elevation AMSL1,363 ft / 415 m
Coordinates36°14′15″N 043°57′47″E / 36.23750°N 43.96306°E / 36.23750; 43.96306
Websiteerbilairport.com
Map
ORER is located in Iraqi Kurdistan
ORER
ORER
Location in Kurdistan Region
ORER is located in Iraq
ORER
ORER
ORER (Iraq)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 4,800 15,748 Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Cargo33,527
Total passengers1,565,998

Erbil International Airport (IATA: EBL, ICAO: ORER) (Arabic: مطار اربيل الدولي) (Kurdish: فڕۆکه‌خانه‌ی نێوده‌وڵه‌تیی هه‌ولێر / Firrokexaney Nêwdewlletîy Hewlêr), is the main airport of the city of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is administered by the Iraqi Government since 2017 and is one of two international airports in KRI (the other being Sulaymaniyah Airport), with a third in Duhok being under construction. The new modern airport opened in 2005. The airport has one of the longest runways in the world.

History

The airport was built at the beginning of the 1970s as an Iraqi military base. The airstrip was used as a military base until 1991 by the Ba'ath Party regime as a result of United Nations Security Council establishing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq. After the 2003 US invasion, the Kurdistan Regional Government took over administrative rule of the region. On 26 May 2005, the airport was given the ICAO airport code ORER. Endowed with natural resources including oil, natural gas and other minerals, investment in Iraq has increased substantially since 2005. The city of Erbil has been a large recipient of foreign investments. Due to the growing need for safe access into the country, the Regional Government invested US$500 million in the construction of a modern airport.[citation needed]

Old airport

The old Erbil airport covered 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft), and was divided into departure and arrival halls. It had three gates and a 2,800 m (9,200 ft) long runway with an ILS system.[2] The Kurdistan International Bank, a Tourism Information office, the airline companies offices, duty-free shops, a cafeteria, and the Korek Telecom office were located inside the terminal.

The warehouse offered cargo space amounting to 4,320 m2 (46,500 sq ft) and consisted of an import and an export section. The cargo was handled by Dnata, a Dubai-based company.[2]

New airport

A newly built, US$550 million airport was opened on 5 July 2005.[2][3] The new airport is next to the old airport (previously a military field) and has one of the world's longest runways, 4,800 m × 75 m (15,748 ft × 246 ft) and is equipped for ILS CAT II operations.[2] The airport's new terminal has duty-free shops and currency exchange offices.[4] The terminal also has VIP areas for business jets, and there is a VIP terminal for visiting dignitaries and diplomats[3] for the purpose of achieving international airport standards.[5]

In 2010 Erbil International Airport had the least expensive aviation fuel in Iraq (at 83 US cents per litre).[6]

From 29 September 2017 until 14 March 2018, following the 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum, all commercial international flights were suspended.[7] The airport remained open for domestic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic flights.[8] The Iraqi government has been operating the airport since.

Drone attacks

The airport has been the target of numerous drone strikes by Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in 2021.[9] On 15 April, a drone carrying explosives targeted the military section of the airport. The section housed US-led forces, and no casualties were reported.[10] On 6 July, another drone targeted the same section of the airport and crashed near the airport.[11] On 11 September, two drones carrying explosives failed to reach the airport; one was shot down by C-RAM air defense and the other one crashed. There were no casualties.[12]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

These are the airlines and destinations served from Erbil Airport:[13]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Sharjah
AnadoluJet Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[14]
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Cham Wings Airlines Damascus[15]
Egyptair Cairo
Eurowings Berlin,[16] Düsseldorf, Hamburg,[17] Stuttgart[18]
Fly Baghdad Aleppo, Baghdad, Damascus, Medina
flydubai Dubai–International[19]
FlyErbil Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin,[20] Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Damascus,[20] Dubai–International, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover,[21] Istanbul, Munich
Iraqi Airways Amman–Queen Alia, Ankara, Baghdad, Baku, Basra, Berlin, Cairo, Copenhagen, Dubai–International, Düsseldorf,[22] Frankfurt, Istanbul, Munich, Najaf, Sulaymaniyah
Mahan Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Middle East Airlines Beirut[23]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways Doha[24]
Royal Jordanian Amman–Queen Alia
SunExpress Seasonal: Antalya[25]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi[26]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Royal Jordanian Cargo[27] Amman–Queen Alia
Turkish Cargo[28] Istanbul

Statistics

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Annual passenger traffic at EBL airport. See Wikidata query.

Since its opening in 2006, the airport has seen increased traffic. Traffic was up 22% in 2010 and in 2011 demand was up 37% to just over 620,000 passengers. In the first four months of 2012 passenger numbers are up 52% with April setting a new record of 84,275 departing and arriving passengers.[29]

Annual Passenger & Cargo Traffic[30]
Year Passengers % Change Aircraft

movements

% Change Cargo (MT) % Change
2006 163,619 Steady 4,894 Steady N/A —
2007 275,183 Increase 68% 9,815 Increase100.5% 10,000 Steady
2008 302,000 Increase 10% 7,745 Decrease21% 14,500 Increase 45%
2009 356,850 Increase 18% 7,557 Decrease 2.4% 11,533 Decrease 20%
2010 449,536 Increase 26% 7,235 Decrease 4.2% 10,848 Decrease 6%
2011 620,365 Increase 38% 7,366 Increase 1.8% 17,864 Increase 65%
2012 947,600 Increase 53% 9,021 Increase 22.4% 27,488 Increase 54%
2013 1,193,783 Increase 26% 12,229 Increase 35.5% 38,571 Increase 40%
2014 1,565,998 Increase 31% 16,218 Increase 32.6% 33,527 Decrease 13%
2015 1,665,701 Increase 6.3% 18,864 Increase 16.3% 22,742 Decrease 32.1%
2016 1,814,272 Increase 8.9% 19,080 Increase 1.1% 23,462 Increase 3.1%
2017 1,606,531 Decrease 11.4% 15,294 Decrease 19.8% 17,574 Decrease 25%
2018 1,533,863 Decrease 4.5% 15,562 Increase 1.7% 16,505 Decrease 6%
2019 1,909,785 Increase 24.5% 19,560 Increase 25.7% 23,899 Increase 44.8%
2020 506,263 Decrease 73.5% 6,054 Decrease 69% 18,826 Decrease 21.2%
2021 1,247,113 Increase 146.3% 13,970 Increase 130.8% 16,473 Decrease 12.5%

Incidents

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kurdish government accepts Baghdad's conditions to end dispute". Arab News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Old & New". erbilairport.com.
  3. ^ a b "A winning design". erbilairport.com. 26 May 2005.
  4. ^ "Shops and Services". erbilairport.com.
  5. ^ Erbil International. "Airport". www.erbilairport.com.
  6. ^ EIA informs of one liter fuel in Erbil is $0.83
  7. ^ Erbil International Airport. "Baghdad 'No fly Zone' looms for Kurdistan airports". erbilairport.com.
  8. ^ "Iraqi govt enforces international flight ban in Kurdistan region - France 24". 29 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Iraq's Erbil airport targeted in drone attack: Kurdish officials". 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Iraq's Erbil airport targeted by explosives-laden drone". 15 April 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Explosive-laden drone hit Erbil airport in Iraq, aimed at U.S. base -security sources". Reuters. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Two explosive-laden drones target Erbil International Airport". 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  13. ^ Erbil Airport Flight Schedule
  14. ^ Liu, Jim. "Turkish Airlines confirms AnadoluJet network transition from late-March 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  15. ^ chamwings.com - Where we fly retrieved 9 September 2018
  16. ^ "Berlin Brandenburg nach Erbil". Eurowings.
  17. ^ "Hamburg nach Erbil". Eurowings.
  18. ^ "Stuttgart nach Erbil". Eurowings.
  19. ^ Flydubai Flight. "Timetables". flydubai.
  20. ^ a b "FlyErbil Adds Berlin / Damascus Service in 2Q23".
  21. ^ "Fünf zusätzliche Airlines starten ab Hannover". aeroTELEGRAPH. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Iraqi Airways Resumes Dusseldorf Service from Nov 2023". AeroRoutes. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  23. ^ MEA. "Timetable". www.mea.com.lb. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  24. ^ DOH. "Booking". www.qatarairways.com.
  25. ^ "SunExpress Announces 2021 Summer Program". ftnnews.com. 23 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Wizz Air Abu Dhabi schedules Erbil debut in Oct 2023". Aeroroutes. 21 July 2023.
  27. ^ rj-cargo.com - Destinations retrieved 27 January 2021
  28. ^ "Turkish Airlines cargo 2015 winter schedule" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  29. ^ Erbil International Airport (13 June 2020). "Growing by 50% in 2012; Mahan Air, Qatar Airways and Transavia.com new this year". anna.aero.
  30. ^ "Statistics". www.eia.krd.
  31. ^ "Attack on Erbil airport in Iraq reported". 7 July 2021.
  32. ^ Bechocha, Julian. "Explosive-laden drones strike US base near Erbil airport". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

External links

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