Aleppo International Airport (Arabic: مطار حلب الدولي) (IATA: ALP, ICAO: OSAP) is an international airport serving Aleppo, Syria. The airport is serving as a secondary hub for Syrian Air and Cham Wings.
The history of the airport dates back to the beginning of the 20th century during the French Mandate. In 1924, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines made their first flight from AmsterdamtoBatavia, Dutch East Indies, through the airport in Aleppo.[3][a] The airport was upgraded and developed over the years until 1999 when the new current terminal was inaugurated.[4]
In January 2013, the facility closed due to the Syrian Civil War,[5] but after Syrian Army advances were made in the area, the airport briefly re-opened on 22 January 2014, welcoming its first civilian flight in more than 1 year (flights were suspended in December 2012), carrying foreign journalists to the city.[6]
Following the Syrian government's recapture of eastern Aleppo during the Battle of Aleppo, an airplane conducted its first flight from the airport in four years. The flight, conducted on 5 January 2017, was a trial attempt by the government before the airport fully opens to the public.[7]
After an eight-year hiatus due to the Syrian Civil War, flights have resumed on 19 February 2020, with the inaugural flight originating from Damascus International Airport.[10] On 15 January 2021, scheduled flights to Beirut and Erbil were resumed after hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
In June 2022, after the Israeli bombing of Damascus International Airport, all Cham Wings Air flights from Damascus were rerouted to Aleppo.[12]
On 6 September, Israeli Air Force warplanes struck the airport from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, with air-to-surface missiles damaging the runway and putting it out of service.[13]
On 7 March 2023, the Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, targeting alleged Iranian weapons transfers. The Syrian transport ministry said that the delivery of humanitarian aid to Idlib Governorate following the February earthquake would be rerouted to Damascus and Latakia Airports after the "Israeli aggression".[14] Later that month, on 22 March, Israel launched missiles at the airport for the third time in six months.[15] On 1 May, Israeli airstrikes which targeted ammunition depot at the military airport killed a Syrian soldier and injured seven people including two civilians.[16] On 28 August, another Israeli airstrike hit the airport, causing runway damage and shutting the airport down until the following day.[17][18]
On 12 October, Israel launched a large missile attack against both Aleppo and Damascus airports, which damaged their runways and made them temporarily closed, during the skirmishes which occurred across the border, in contemporary with Israel–Hamas war.[19][20] Two days later, Israel retargeted the airport from the direction of the sea, west of Latakia, which put it out of service again.[21] On 22 October, both Aleppo and Damascus airports were hit simultaneously, the third attack in two weeks.[22]
On 28 March, an airstrike by Israel after midnight aimed at an arms depot in Jibrin, near Aleppo International Airport, led to the deaths of 36 Syrian soldiers and 6 Hezbollah fighters, according to SOHR.[23]
Aleppo International Airport has a modern terminal which combines a modern and Islamic architecture. The total area is 38,000 square meters over four floors. The airport capacity is 1.7 million passengers a year.
Aviation
