Baghdad International Airport

Baghdad International Airport, known as Saddam International Airport originally, (مطار بغداد الدولي), is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about 16 km west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Iraq's national airline, Iraqi Airways. It is often abbreviated BIAP, although BIAP is not an official airport code. The airport road is having a makeover due to the rise in tourism and business taking place in the oil-rich nation.

Pre-1987

 * The present 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 1987.  The airport at the time was opened as Saddam International Airport, bearing the name of the then-president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.

1987-2000

 * Most of Baghdad's civil flights stopped in 1991, when the United Nations imposed restrictions on Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Because of the no-fly zone imposed on Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom, Iraqi Airways was only able to continue domestic flights for limited periods. Internationally, Baghdad was able to receive occasional charter flights carrying medicine, aid workers, and government officials. Royal Jordanian Airlines operated regular flights from Amman to Baghdad.

2001-2004

 * In April 2003, US-led forces invaded 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 previously referred to all Baghdad airports and before that to Al Muthana Airport when Saddam was in power.
 * Civilian control of the airport is passed back to the Iraqi Government in 2004.

2005-present

 * Terminal C is refreshed with three active gate areas for carriers operating from the airport.

Airline service

 * The airport officially reverted to civilian control on 25 August 2004. Iraqi Airways resumed regular flights, and courier carriers also began flights.


 * On October 2008, Turkish Airlines launched nonstop service to Baghdad from Istanbul Atatürk International Airport with three weekly flights, thus becoming the first airline to resume service from Europe to the Iraqi capital since UN sanctions were imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.


 * On 9 October 2009, Middle East Airlines announced flights to Beirut from Baghdad. Flights will operate 4x weekly from 29 October and soon after upgraded to daily service. They will use Airbus A320 aircraft for the flights.


 * On 17 April 2010, Etihad Airways announced they will launch passenger flights to Baghdad from Abu Dhabi from 26 April.


 * In June 2011, EgyptAir announced the launch of flights connecting Cairo International Airport to Baghdad from 27 August 2011. The airline previously served the city in the early 1990s. Flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft.


 * On 8 June 2011, Austrian Airlines resumed to Vienna, Austria after a 21 year hiatus.


 * On June 2011, Emirates again announced the launch of flights connecting Dubai International Airport to Baghdad from 13 November 2011.


 * On 7 June 2012, Qatar Airways launched direct flights from Doha, four times a week.


 * On 16 February 2013, Iraqi Airways resumed flights from Baghdad International Airport to Kuwait International Airport. This comes after a 22 year hiatus.


 * On 6 March 2013, Iraqi Airways resumed direct flights from Gatwick Airport to Baghdad International Airport, flights will operate twice a week. This comes after a 23 year hiatus.


 * On 25 April 2013, Iraqi Airways resumed flights to Frankfurt Airport with a Boeing 777-200LR.

Expansion plans
On 18 May 2010, plans were unveiled for an expansion of Baghdad International Airport, which will double its capacity to 15 million passengers per year. The expansion, to be funded by foreign investors, will include the construction of three new terminals and the refurbishment of the existing three terminals, which will each accommodate 2.5 million passengers annually.

Incidents and accidents

 * On 25 December 1986, Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-200, flying from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan, was hijacked and damaged by a bomb in flight. The bomb exploded in the cockpit causing the plane to crash in Saudi Arabia, killing 63 of 106 on board.
 * On 29 November 1987, Korean Air Flight 858, a Boeing 707-3B5C, was destroyed by a bomb over the Andaman Sea, the bomb was left by two North Korean agents who boarded in Baghdad but got off in Abu Dhabi. The plane was flying the Baghdad-Abu Dhabi-Bangkok-Seoul flight. All 104 passengers and 11 crew died.
 * On 22 November 2003, a European Air Transport Airbus A300B4 freighter, registered OO-DLL, operating on behalf of DHL Aviation, was hit by an SA-14 'Grail' missile shortly after take-off. The airplane lost hydraulic pressure and thus the controls. 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 3 crew survived. Civilians planes routinely perform corkscrew landings to minimise the risk of damage from surface weapons.