Mosul Airport launches first international flight since reopening
Shafaq News – Nineveh
Mosul International Airport in Nineveh province on Monday operated its first international flight since resuming operations, airport officials said.
Ammar al-Bayati, the airport’s director, told Shafaq News that the flight departed for Medina in Saudi Arabia after midday, carrying 157 Umrah pilgrims from Nineveh, pointing out that the flight was coordinated with the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority and Iraqi Airways, in cooperation with Saudi authorities.
Al-Bayati added that talks are ongoing with specialized companies to open additional international routes, to activate Mosul airport as a fully functioning international hub in the next phase.
Iraqi authorities reopened Mosul International Airport on July 16, 2025, with an annual capacity of about 630,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of air cargo, seeking to reconnect the city with other parts of Iraq and the region. Domestic commercial flights began operating at the airport in November 2025.
The airport had been out of service for years due to widespread destruction between 2014 and 2017. After ISIS seized Mosul in June 2014, airport facilities were destroyed, including the main passenger terminal, control tower, and fire stations.
The runways were also rendered unusable after trenches were dug across them and debris was scattered to prevent Iraqi forces from using the site. Dozens of explosive devices and landmines were later found across the airport grounds, requiring complex clearance operations that lasted around 18 months and concluded in 2019, with two American private firms, Janus Global Operations and Tetra Tech, working alongside a local Iraqi partner, Al Fahad.
