Baghdad airport
Baghdad International Airport (formerly Saddam International Airport) is Iraq's largest air facility. An international civilian airport, it lies in a suburb about 10 miles west of Baghdad. Its IATA airport code is SDA. It is possible (although unlikely) that this code will eventually be changed, as it does refer to Saddam Hussein. Its ICAO airport code of ORBS will most certainly remain the same.
The airport is Iraq's largest air facility and is fit to receive planes of all sizes; however, it has been all but deserted since 1991. In that year, the United Nations imposed restrictions on Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Once the hub for Iraq's international airline, Iraqi Airways, and host to airplanes of a long list of international airlines, this airport has been able to receive only occasional charter flights with medicines.
The gigantic terminal, constructed in the 1980s, is currently only receiving charter flights for aid workers and other officials. Terminal C, one of three gate areas, has been spruced up with new potted plants and polished floors. The duty-free shop has reopened as well.
On December 25, 1986, an Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 flying from this airport to Amman, Jordan was hijacked. It later crashed in Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people. (See Iraqi Airways Hijacking.)
The no-fly zone imposed on Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom has been a problem for this airport, as the zone is the main reason Iraqi Airways has only been able to continue domestic flights for limited periods.
Some airlines have been known to bend the UN's restrictions and operate passenger flights there on occasion, but currently no international airline officially has flights there, and only Iraqi Airways operates occasional domestic flights.
On August 17, 2000, the airport reopened, albeit marginally. The airport resumed limited service as merely a shadow of its former self.
On April 3, 2003, the airport was occupied by United States forces just prior to the invasion of Baghdad. After taking control of the airport, U.S. forces announced that they had renamed it from "Saddam International Airport" to "Baghdad International Airport". Allegedly, during this operation, US troops vandalized the terminal building substantially, including looting liquor and expensive watches from the then-closed duty free shops.
