Benina International Airport: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 21:26, 1 August 2014
Benina International Airport مطار بنينة الدولي | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Benina, Benghazi, Libya | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 132 m / 433 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  BEN Location within Libya | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Benina International Airport (IATA: BEN, ICAO: HLLB) (Arabic: مطار بنينة الدولي) serves Benghazi, Libya. It is located in the town of Benina, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Benghazi, from which it takes its name. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the second largest in the country after Tripoli International Airport. Benina International is also the secondary hub of both Buraq Air and flag carrier, Libyan Airlines.
History
During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force during the Eastern Desert Campaign. Known as Soluch Airfield,[nb 1] it was used by the 376th Bombardment Group, which flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers from the airfield between 22 February and 6 April 1943.[3] Once the combat units moved west, it was used as a logistics hub by Air Transport Command. It functioned as a stopover en route to Payne Field near Cairo or to Mellaha Field near Tripoli on the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel.
In March 2011, forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi bombed the airport.[4] No damages were reported to facilities.[5]
The airport has been closed since 16 May 2014, due to clashes in the area between militias and forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar.[6][7]
Plans
A new terminal with a capacity of 5 million passengers will be developed north of the existing runway at Benina International under a 720 million LYD (€415 million) first-stage contract awarded to Canada's SNC-Lavalin. The final cost is estimated at 1.1 billion LYD (€630 million). As with Tripoli International Airport, the new terminal was designed by Aéroports de Paris Engineering. Preliminary work and site preparation has started, but it remains unclear when the terminal will be open for operation.[8]
The contract for Benina International Airport includes construction of a new international terminal, runway and apron. The new airport is part of an extensive new infrastructure programme being undertaken by the government of Libya throughout the country.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Afriqiyah Airways | Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Amman-Queen Alia, Casablanca, Dubai, Khartoum, Misrata, Sebha, Sfax, Tripoli, Tunis |
| Air Malta | Malta (Suspended)[9] |
| Buraq Air | Istanbul-Atatürk, Tripoli, Tunis |
| EgyptAir | Cairo |
| EgyptAir operated by EgyptAir Express | Alexandria-Borg el Arab |
| Libyan Airlines | Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Amman-Queen Alia, Cairo, Casablanca, Istanbul-Atatürk, Kufra, Misrata, Sebha, Sfax, Tripoli, Tunis Seasonal: Jeddah |
| Qatar Airways | Doha |
| Royal Jordanian | Amman-Queen Alia |
| Syphax Airlines | Sfax[citation needed] |
| Tunisair | Tunis |
| TunisAir Express | Sfax |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-Atatürk |
Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Etihad Crystal Cargo | Abu Dhabi, Milan-Malpensa,[10] Vienna |
Accidents and incidents
- On 4 April 1943, Lady Be Good, a World War II B-24 Liberator based at Soluch Field, missed the airport while returning from a bombing mission in Italy. It crashed in the Libyan Desert 434 miles (699 km) southeast of Soluch Field and was lost for 15 years.[11]
- On 9 August 1958, Vickers Viscount VP-YNE of Central African Airways crashed 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) south east of Benina International Airport, killing 36 of the 54 people on board.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ Later Soluch Air Base
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ Template:WAD
- ^ Airport information for Benina International Airport at Transport Search website.
- ^ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- ^ "Libya: Gaddafi forces bomb Benghazi as US indicates no-fly zone support". The Scotsman. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Gaddafi's planes strike around rebel stronghold". Reuters. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013.
- ^ 43 killed in Libya clashes, authorities close Benghazi airport RT. 16 May 2014. Accessed 15 July 2014
- ^ 90% of aircraft destroyed at Tripoli airport, Libya may seek international assistance RT. 15 July 2014.
- ^ Endress, Gunter (20 May 2008). "Libya to restructure air transport sector". London: Flightglobal. Airline Business. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013.
- ^ No Air Malta flights to Libya until mid-August Malta Today. 17 July 2014
- ^ Etihad Crystal Cargo Schedule
- ^ QMFound.com: Lady Be Good
External links
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