Mosul International Airport opens its doors

Iraq’s Mosul International Airport has been officially inaugurated, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reports. An undisclosed “specialized company” is now tasked with bringing the facility to full operational capacity within the next two months, INA reports, citing a statement issued by the Iraqi prime minister’s office. The airport’s launch was initially slated for 2024 but it got pushed later to 10 June 2025.

New specs: The airport — based in the Nineveh Governorate — will reportedly handle up to 630k passengers and 30k tons of cargo per year. Its new runway was extended to 3k meters with a width of 45 meters.

A long time coming: Mosul International Airport had been non-operational since 2014 when it was taken over by ISIS, and was badly damaged in 2017 amid clashes between Iraqi forces and ISIS, the Guardian reported back in 2017. Airport reconstruction efforts broke ground in 2022, with Baghdad tapping Turkish contractors for construction works in 2023. Iraqi Airways completed its first trial landing at Mosul International Airport last month.

Iraq’s airport development plans: Baghdad is currently working on several airport upgrades with the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation advising on the plans. Last week, the government issued tenders to upgrade Baghdad International Airport under a USD 400-600 mn public-private partnership. Nasiriyah International Airport upgrades were reportedly over 76% complete last January, with construction still underway.