Aden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen (IATA: ADE, ICAO: OYAA) and the oldest airport in the Arabian peninsula. Prior to its use as a civil air facility, the aerodrome was known as RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. In the 1970s and 1980s it was both a civilian airport and a Soviet Air Force air base. It continues to be used for military purposes by the Yemeni Air Force.
Aden International Airport مطار عدن الدولي | |||||||||||
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![]() Aden International Airport in July 2017 | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Southern Transitional Council (Southern Movement) | ||||||||||
Serves | Aden | ||||||||||
Location | Aden, Yemen | ||||||||||
Hub for | Yemenia | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 7 ft / 2 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 12°49′46″N 045°01′44″E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
![]() ![]() ADE Location within Yemen | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: World Aero Data[1] |
The airport was established on the former RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. It later served as a Soviet Air Force station during the 1970s and 1980s. From 1971 until 1996 it was also the main hub of Alyemda Yemen Democratic Airlines. It is the second-largest airport in Yemen after Sana'a International Airport. The new terminal was built between 1983 and 1985, with a capacity of one million passengers a year. A major reconstruction and expansion of Aden International was completed in 2001, including a new runway that can handle large, long-haul aircraft.[citation needed] In 2000 the constructions at the new control tower and airport department building were completed. Plans to make that airport a regional cargo hub, with an "air cargo village" by 2004 appear to have failed. Although construction began in January 2003, by the end of the year the managing company had dissolved.
During the Yemeni Civil War in the Aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen, the city of Aden including its airport became a battleground. The Battle of Aden Airport took place on 19 March 2015, with Houthi forces mounting an attack on the airport that was repelled by forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Operations were suspended for months, owing to bombing by the Saudi Air Force in Operation Decisive Storm.[citation needed]
On 22 July 2015, the airport was declared fit for operation again, as a Saudi plane carrying aid reportedly became the first plane to land in Aden in four months.[2] Two days later two more Saudi planes landed carrying the equipment needed to resume operations, to enable aid to be delivered to the embattled country.[3]
On 26 November 2015, the airport re-opened briefly for civilian air traffic after being closed for 10 months, with a Yemenia flight arriving from Amman-Queen Alia international Airport in Jordan.[4] Service for the next three months was sporadic, but at the end of February 2016 it was reported that the airport would reopen for ordinary commercial service after a few weeks of repairs.[5]
The blockade was reinstated on 21 February 2016.[6]
The blockade was lifted on 14 November 2017, when the first commercial flight has landed at Aden International Airport.[7][8] Flights were cancelled once again, for four days (28-31 January 2018), but resumed on 1 February 2018.[9][10]
The airport is also a Yemeni Air Force base. The base is home to the 128 Squadron Detachment. Aircraft attached to the squadron are mainly transport and attack helicopters (Ka27/28, Mi-8, Mi-14, Mi-17, Mi-24, Mi-171Sh).[citation needed]
Airlines | Destinations |
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Air Djibouti[11] | Djibouti |
Yemenia[12] | Amman–Queen Alia, Cairo, Djibouti, Jeddah, Khartoum, Mumbai, Riyadh, Seiyun |
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006.{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Media related to Aden International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Airports in Yemen | |
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International | |
Unscheduled |