ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mosul International Airport officially resumed domestic flight operations, with the first Iraqi Airways flight arriving at the airport on Thursday, marking the end of an 11-year closure.
“Today, the first Iraqi Airways flight departed from Mosul International Airport to Baghdad International Airport, marking the official return to operations. The plane, a CRJ, carried 36 passengers from Baghdad," Director of Mosul International Airport Ammar Khader, told Rudaw.
Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province in northern Iraq, was seized by ISIS in June 2014 during the group’s rapid expansion across Iraq and Syria. It was declared the capital of ISIS’s so-called caliphate.
The battle to retake the city began in October 2016, led by Iraqi forces with support from the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Kurdish Peshmerga forces played a key role in securing the city’s eastern and northern flanks, cutting off supply routes and clearing surrounding areas.
Mosul International Airport was retaken in February 2017, and the city was officially declared liberated on July 10 of the same year. However, the airport sustained extensive damage during the conflict. Reconstruction began in August 2022 with a budget of around 200 billion Iraqi dinars (around $142.8 million).
“Our joy is beyond words. Today, we stand at Mosul International Airport as it resumes operations after many years of closure. What was once only a dream has finally become reality," Fares Zidan, a screening supervisor, told Rudaw.
The newly rebuilt airport features a main terminal hall, VIP lounge, modern radar systems, and a 3,000-meter runway. It is expected to handle up to 630,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of cargo annually, making it a key driver of Nineveh’s post-war economic recovery.
It is expected to handle up to 630,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of cargo annually.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani had officially inaugurated the airport on July 16, coinciding with the anniversary of the city’s liberation from ISIS. Earlier in June, an aircraft successfully completed the first test landing at the airport in over a decade.