Baghdad International Airport (
IATA: BGW,
ICAO: ORBI), previously Saddam International Airport from 1982 to 2003, (
IATA: SDA,
ICAO: ORBS) (
Arabic: مطار بغداد الدولي,
romanized: Maṭār Baġdād ad-Dawaliyy) is
Iraq's largest
international 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-1982
The 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 1982. It opened as Saddam International Airport, bearing the name of then-
Iraqi PresidentSaddam Hussein.[3]
In April 2003,
U.S.-led Coalition forcesinvaded 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 had previously referred to all Baghdad airports, and before that to
Al Muthana Airport when
Saddam was in power.
Sather Air Base came under periodic rocket fire from Baghdad. On 6 December 2006, a 107mm rocket attack landed 30 yards (27.5 meters) from a parked
C-5A aircraft, puncturing it with scores of shrapnel holes.
Terminal C was refreshed with three active gate areas for carriers operating from the airport.
Baghdad Airport Road, connecting the airport to the
Green Zone, once a dangerous route full of
IEDs, was refurbished with palm trees, manicured lawns, and a fountain, with
Turkish assistance.[4]
On 18 May 2010, plans were unveiled for an expansion of Baghdad International Airport, doubling its capacity to 15 million passengers per year. The expansion, to be funded by foreign investors, was to include construction of three new terminals and refurbishment of the existing three, each of which would accommodate 2.5 million passengers annually.[6]
In June 2000, two Saudi former military officers boarded a plane bound for London and diverted it to Baghdad. They wanted to claim asylum in Iraq, but Iraqi authorities later deported them to Saudi Arabia.[25]
On 22 November 2003, a
European Air TransportAirbus A300B4 freighter, registered
OO-DLL, operating on behalf of
DHL Aviation, was hit by an
SA-14 'Grail' missile shortly after takeoff. The airplane lost hydraulic pressure, causing a loss of control. 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 three crew survived. After the incident, civilian planes took to routinely performing
corkscrew landings to minimise the risk of being hit by surface weapons.[26]
On 26 January 2015, a
flydubaiBoeing 737-800 flying from
Dubai to Baghdad with 154 passengers on board was hit by
small-arms fire on approach to Baghdad International Airport. The plane landed safely.[27] One passenger was injured when at least three bullets struck the plane. After the incident,
UAE carriers
FlyDubai and
Emirates suspended their flights from
Dubai to Baghdad. Flights by
Turkish Airlines and
Royal Jordanian were also temporarily suspended.[11]