Years after it was destroyed in the fight to drive out ISIS, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani officially opened the city of Mosul’s recently renovated airport on Wednesday.
The airport, which should be fully operational for both local and international flights in two months, saw the arrival of Sudani’s flight.
According to a statement from the PM’s media office, “the airport will serve as an additional link between Mosul and other Iraqi cities and regional destinations.”
After seizing vast portions of Iraq and adjacent Syria, ISIS declared its “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.
Following years of intense fighting, the organization was driven out of the city in July 2017 by Iraqi forces supported by a multinational coalition led by the United States, and by the end of the same year, the group was declared defeated nationwide.
Since the extremists took control of Mosul, the airport, which sustained significant damage during the conflict, has not been used.
Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the prime minister at the time, laid the cornerstone for the airport’s renovation in August 2022.
Although no date has been set for the resumption of domestic and international flights, airport director Amar al-Bayati told AFP that the “airport is now ready for domestic and international flights.”
The airport used to have international flights, primarily to Turkey and Jordan, he added.
According to Sudani’s office, the airport now has a main terminal, a VIP lounge, and a cutting-edge radar surveillance system.
It is anticipated to carry 630,000 people a year.
Source: Al Arabiya English and Al Jazeera
