Erbil International Airport (IATA: EBL, ICAO: ORER), is the main airport of the city of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
It is administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) under a committee consisting of the Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechervan Idris Barzani, and is one of two international airports (the other being Sulaymaniyah Airport) in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, with a third in Duhok being under construction. The new modern airport opened its doors in 2010. The airport has one of the longest runways in the world.
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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 Kurdistan. After the 2003 Iraq War, 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 Kurdistan has increased since 2005 and the city of Erbil has been the recipient of foreign investments. Due to the growing need for safe access into the country, the Kurdistan Regional Government invested US$500 million in the construction of a modern airport.
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. 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.
New airport
A new Turkish built, $US550 million airport was opened on 3 March 2010. 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. The airport's new terminal has duty-free shops and currency exchange offices. The terminal also has CIP areas for business jets, and there is a VIP terminal for visiting dignitaries and diplomats.
In 2010 Erbil International Airport had the least expensive aviation fuel in Iraq (at 83 US cents per litre).
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
These are the airlines and destinations serves from Erbil Airport:
Cargo
Statistics
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.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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