Mosul's airport has reopened to passengers with the first flight to Baghdad since the city was relieved of ISIS rule.
The Iraqi Airways flight marked the return of domestic air traffic to Mosul after the airport was rebuilt. Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani had held a formal reopening ceremony in July, after a first trial flight in June.
It is the latest milestone in Mosul's recovery from the destruction left behind by ISIS, which overran the city in 2014. Landmarks including Al Nuri Mosque and its leaning minaret were restored in a UAE-backed project completed in September.
Iraqi officials hope international flights from Mosul could soon follow. “The airport is fully prepared and complete in all technical and logistical aspects,” the airport authority chief Hussein Al Zubaidi said.
“Co-ordination is under way with Iraqi Airways to operate domestic flights according to the company's schedules, in preparation for launching international flights in the near future,” he said, according to the Iraqi News Agency.
ISIS overran large parts of Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014, declaring a caliphate from the Mosul mosque that spanned areas of both countries. Three years later, Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led international coalition, reclaimed all ISIS-held territory across the country after gruelling fighting that left thousands dead and large areas in ruin, mainly in Mosul.
The airport was badly damaged. Reconstruction began in 2022, and about 630,000 passengers are expected to use the reconstructed terminal per year.
Twelve firms have submitted proposals to run the airport's operations, Nineveh province governor Abdul Qader Al Dakhil said in August. The National reported that the bidders include Emirati, Turkish, British, and Omani companies. Ground handling, cargo and refuelling are being provided by Masil, a joint venture between Menzies Aviation and Iraqi Airways.
Last month Iraq awarded a contract for a $764 million development of Baghdad's international airport. There are plans to build a new terminal and upgrade runways.
Other airports in the country include Najaf Airport, which primarily serves pilgrims for Shiite shrines, Basra Airport, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and Kirkuk Airport, which was opened in 2022. Two more are under construction outside the cities of Karbala and Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
