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Yasser Arafat International Airport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| IATA: GZA - ICAO: LVGZ | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Yaser Arafat International Airport | ||
| Serves | Gaza Strip | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 320 ft (98 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 01/19 | 10,091 | 3,076 | Asphalt |
Yasser Arafat International Airport (Arabic: مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي; transliterated: Matar Yasir 'Arafat ad-Dowaly) (IATA: GZA, ICAO: LVGZ), formerly Gaza International Airport and Dahaniya International Airport, is located in the Gaza Strip, in Rafah close to the Egyptian border.
It is owned, and was operated, by the Palestinian Authority, and served as the home airport for Palestinian Airlines. The airport was able to handle 700,000 passengers per year and operated 24 hours and 364 days a year (closed on Yom Kippur). The airport opened in 1998, but it closed in 2001 after being severely damaged by Israeli military forces.
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The airport was built with funding from Japan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Germany and designed by Moroccan architects (modeled after Casablanca airport) and engineers funded by Morocco's King Hassan II. The total cost was $86 million. After a year of construction, it opened on 24 November 1998; attendees at the opening ceremony included Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton. At the time, the opening of the airport was described as evidence of progress toward Palestinian statehood.[1] The airport was twinned with Mohammed V International Airport, in Casablanca, Morocco.
The radar station and control tower were destroyed by Israel Defense Forces aircraft in 2001 after the start of the al-Aqsa Intifada, and bulldozers cut the runway apart in January 2002.[2][3] The Israeli attack on the airport was motivated by Israeli concerns that they could not control what the Palestinian Authority transported in or out of the Gaza Strip, and to punish Arafat's government for its alleged support of terrorism.[4]
From 2001 to 2006, airport staff still manned the ticket counters and baggage areas,[5] though no aircraft flew into or out of the airport during that period. The closest airport in the area is El Arish International Airport in Egypt.
The airport has one runway of 3080 m x 60 m, but it is no longer operational due to extensive damage to the north and middle sections of the runway. Some of the taxiways are damaged, but the apron did not sustain heavy damage.
The main terminal building is a two storey 4,000 square metre Arab Islamic designed building and decorated with Moroccan tile, glass windows framed by arches and has state-of-the-art equipment. A control tower faces the runway and apron.
The airport was staffed by a total of 400 personnel.
There were no ramps for passengers to disembark directly to the terminal. Stairs were brought out to the planes parked on the apron.
Facilities within the terminal building included:
- VIP Lounge
- Baggage Area
- Customs and Immigration
- 2 Restaurants
- Medical Facilities
- First Aid Clinic
- Bank
- Post office
- Tourist Office
- Security Office
There were 19 other buildings at the airport including:
- Fuel Stations - Palestinian Petroleum Corporation
- Aircraft Hangars
- ATS Communication Tower - destroyed
- Passenger Services
- Cargo Terminals
- Airline Operations (Ground Services)
- Fire and Rescue
- Parking Lot
- Maintenance Workshop
- 28 Metres ATC watchtower
The airport was linked by buses and taxis to the rest of the Gaza Strip.
A list of airlines once operating at the airport:
- Royal Jordanian (Suspended until further notice, flights to Amman are operated by the Royal Jordanian subsidiary Royal Wings.)
- Palestinian Airlines
- Royal Wings
- Egypt Air
- Royal Air Maroc
- Tarom
- Rusavia
Locally Air Traffic Control at YAIA was maintained by the Palestinian Authority Civil Aviation Authority, but traffic to and from was also under the jurisdiction of the Israel South Control.
- ^ Palestinians cheer airport as first step to statehood, Associated Press, November 25, 1998.
- ^ Grounded in Gaza, but hoping to fly again, MSNBC, May 19 2005, Retrieved on July 2nd 2006
- ^ Years of delays at Gaza airport, BBC, April 15 2005, Retrieved on July 2nd 2006
- ^ Mitch Potter, Gaza yearns to fly again, The Toronto Star, January 23, 2005.
- ^ Years of delays at Gaza airport Johnston, Alan. BBC News
