Mosul Airport Iraq Is Reopened For Flights

Mosul Airport, Iraq. (Wikimedia Commons/Prime Minister's Office)

JAKARTA - Mosul Airport in Iraq has reopened for public flights on its first trip to Baghdad, since the city was released from ISIS.

Iraqi Airways flights marked the return of domestic air traffic to Mosul after the airport was rebuilt. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani held an official reopening ceremony last July, following the first test flight in June.

This is the latest milestone in Mosul's recovery from the destruction left by ISIS, which invaded the city in 2014. Several landmarks, including Al Nuri Mosque and its inclined tower, have been restored in a UAE-backed project and completed in September.

Iraqi officials hope that international flights from Mosul can catch up soon.

"This airport is fully ready and complete in all technical and logistic aspects," said airport chief authority Hussein Al Zubaidi, quoted by The National November 7.

"Coordination is ongoing with Iraqi Airways to operate domestic flights according to the company's schedule, in preparation for the launch of international flights in the near future," he said, according to the Iraqi News Agency.

ISIS invaded large parts of Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014, declaring the caliphate of the Mosul mosque that stretches across the two countries.

Three years later, Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led international coalition, recaptured all territory controlled by ISIS across the country after heavy fighting that killed thousands of people and destroyed much of the territory, especially in Mosul.

The airport was badly damaged. Reconstruction begins in 2022, and about 630,000 passengers are expected to use the terminal that has been reconstructed per year.

Twelve companies have submitted proposals for airport operations, said Nineveh Provincial Governor Abdul Qader Al Dakhil, in August. The National reported that the bidders include Emirates, Turkey, Britain, and Oman companies. Land, cargo and refueling services are provided by Masil, a joint venture between Menzies Aviation and Iraqi Airways.