Erbil International Airport
Erbil International Airport (IATA: EBL, ICAO: ORER), is the main airport of the city of Erbil in Iraq. It is administered by the Iraqi Government under a committee consisting of the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, and is one of two international airports (the other being Sulaymaniyah Airport), with a third in Duhok being under construction. The new modern airport opened in 2010. The airport has one of the longest runways in the world (4800m).
Erbil International Airport Firokaxaney Nêwdewletî Hewlêr فڕۆکهخانهی نێودهوڵهتی ههولێر | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Operator | Iraqi Government[1] | ||||||||||
Serves | Erbil, Iraq | ||||||||||
Location | Ankawa | ||||||||||
Hub for |
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Elevation AMSL | 1,363 ft / 415 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°14′15″N 043°57′47″E | ||||||||||
Website | erbilairport.com | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
ORER Location in Kurdistan Region ORER ORER (Iraq) | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||
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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 Northern Iraq. 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 Iraq 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 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.[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, $US550 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 CIP 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]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
These are the airlines and destinations served from Erbil Airport:[9]
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Air Arabia | Sharjah |
Aircompany Armenia | Seasonal: Yerevan[10] |
AnadoluJet | Diyarbakir,[11] Gaziantep,[11] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[12] |
Austrian Airlines | Vienna |
Azerbaijan Airlines | Baku |
Cham Wings Airlines | Damascus[13] |
Egyptair | Cairo |
Emirates | Dubai–International |
Fly Baghdad | Ankara, Baghdad, Istanbul |
flydubai | Dubai–International[14] |
FlyErbil | Baku, Beirut, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Istanbul, Yerevan |
flynas | Jeddah[15] |
Iraqi Airways | Amman–Queen Alia, Ankara, Baghdad, Baku, Berlin–Tegel, Cairo, Copenhagen, Dubai–International, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London–Gatwick, Manchester, Munich |
Lufthansa | Frankfurt |
Mahan Air | Tehran–Imam Khomeini |
Middle East Airlines | Beirut[16] |
Onur Air | Seasonal: Antalya[17] |
Pegasus Airlines | Ankara, Gaziantep,[18] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen |
Qatar Airways | Doha[19] |
Royal Jordanian | Amman–Queen Alia |
Saudia | Jeddah[20] |
SaudiGulf Airlines | Medina[21] |
SunExpress Deutschland | Seasonal: Düsseldorf[22] |
Turkish Airlines | Istanbul Seasonal: Antalya |
Cargo
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Coyne Airways | Dubai–International |
FitsAir | Dubai–International |
Royal Jordanian Cargo | Amman–Queen Alia |
Turkish Cargo | Istanbul–Atatürk[23] |
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.[24]
Year | Passengers | % Change | Aircraft
movements |
% Change | Cargo (MT) | % Change |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | 163,619 | 4,894 | N/A | N/A | ||
2007 | 275,183 | 9,815 | 10,000 | |||
2008 | 302,000 | 7,745 | 14,500 | |||
2009 | 356,850 | 7,557 | 11,533 | |||
2010 | 449,536 | 7,235 | 10,848 | |||
2011 | 620,365 | 7,366 | 17,864 | |||
2012 | 947,600 | 9,021 | 27,488 | |||
2013 | 1,193,783 | 12,229 | 38,571 | |||
2014 | 1,565,998 | 16,218 | 33,527 | |||
2015 | 1,665,701 | 18,864 | 22,742 | |||
2016 | 1,814,272 | 19,080 | 23,462 | |||
2017 | 1,606,531 | 15,294 | 17,574 | |||
2018 | 1,533,863 | 15,562 | 16,505 | |||
References
- "Kurdish government accepts Baghdad's conditions to end dispute". Arab News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- "Old & New". erbilairport.com.
- "A winning design". erbilairport.com. 26 May 2005.
- "Shops and Services". erbilairport.com.
- Erbil International. "Airport". www.erbilairport.com.
- EIA informs of one liter fuel in Erbil is $0.83
- Erbil International Airport. "Baghdad 'No fly Zone' looms for Kurdistan airports". erbilairport.com.
- "Iraqi govt enforces international flight ban in Kurdistan region - France 24". 29 September 2017.
- Erbil Airport Flight Schedule
- Liu, Jim (25 April 2019). "Armenia schedules new service to Iraq in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- Liu, Jim. "Anadolu Jet adds Erbil service from late-March 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- Liu, Jim. "Turkish Airlines confirms AnadoluJet network transition from late-March 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- chamwings.com - Where we fly retrieved 9 September 2018
- Flydubai Flight. "Timetables". flydubai.
- Rudaw News. "First international flight lands at Erbil airport from Saudi after ban lifted". Rudaw.
- MEA. "Timetable". www.mea.com.lb.
- Liu, Jim. "Onur Air expands Iraq network in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- "Pegasus Airlines expands Middle East network in 2Q19". Routesonline.
- DOH. "Booking". www.qatarairways.com.
- Al-awsat, Asharq. "Saudi Airlines to Launch Direct Flights to Erbil". aawsat.com.
- Liu, Jim. "SaudiGulf Airines files Iraq schedules from Dec 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- Liu, Jim. "SunExpress Germany adds Dusseldorf – Erbil service from June 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- "Turkish Airlines cargo 2015 winter schedule" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- Erbil International Airport (13 June 2012). "Growing by 50% in 2012; Mahan Air, Qatar Airways and Transavia.com new this year". anna.aero.
- "Airport Statistics". erbilairport.com.