Misrata Airport

{{Infobox airport

| name = Misrata International Airport

| nativename = مطار مصراتة الدولي

| image = ISS-18 Misrata Airport, Libya.jpg

| image-width = 250

| IATA = MRA

| ICAO = HLMS

| type = Public/Military

| owner =

| operator = [https://www.laa.gov.ly/ Libyan Airports Authority]

| location = Misrata, Libya

| opened = 1998

| elevation-f = 60

| elevation-m = 18

| metric-elev =

| coordinates = {{coord|32|19|32|N|15|3|35|E|region:LY-MRA|display=inline,title}}

| website = [http://www.misurataairport.ly/ www.misurataairport.ly] [http://www.facebook.com/misurataairport?mibextid=ZbWKwL]

| pushpin_map = Libya

| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Libya

| pushpin_label = MRA

| r1-number = 15/33

| r1-length-f =

| r1-length-m = 3400

| r1-surface = Asphalt

| metric-rwy = y

| stat1-header =

| stat1-data =

| stat-year =

| stat2-header =

| stat2-data =

| stat3-header =

| stat3-data =

| footnotes = Source: GCM{{GCM|MRA|Misrata International Airport}} SkyVector{{cite web |title=Misrata International Airport |url=https://skyvector.com/airport/HLMS/Misrata-Airport |website=SkyVector |accessdate=17 September 2018}}

}}

Misrata International Airport {{airport codes|MRA|HLMS}} is an international airport serving Misrata, a Mediterranean coastal city in the Misrata District of Libya. It also acts as an air base and training center for the Libyan Air Force.{{cite news|title = Libya Air Order of Battle|url =http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/libya/af-orbat.htm|publisher = GlobalSecurity.org |date = 5 March 2011|accessdate = 24 March 2011}}

History

The airport was created in 1939 as a small landing site in the Misrata province of Italian Libya.

On 15 December 2011, the airport celebrated its first regularly scheduled international commercial flights by a non-Libyan airline (Turkish Airlines).

On 14 July 2014, the airport was closed to flights due to clashes at Tripoli International Airport, which Misrata International Airport is dependent on for its operations. Flights resumed on the night of 15 July.[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/tripoli-airport-under-fire-fourth-day-2014716185817278862.html Tripoli airport under fire for fourth day] Al Jazeera. 16 July 2014. Accessed 17 July 2014

On 3 August 2020, a fire destroyed the airport's passenger terminal.{{cite web| url = https://www.libyaherald.com/2020/08/04/misrata-airport-closed-after-fire-mitiga-to-reopen-on-9-august-as-maltese-inspection-delegation-considers-flight-resumption/| title = Misrata airport closed after fire, Mitiga to reopen on 9 August – as Maltese inspection delegation considers flight resumption {{!}}| date = 4 August 2020}}

Military use

The Libyan Air Force operates the Soko G-2 aircraft extensively at Misrata in both a training and counterinsurgency capacity.

The first Libyan warplane to challenge the no-fly zone during the Libyan Civil War was a G-2 taking off from Misrata on March 24, 2011. It was reported to have been promptly shot down by the French Air Force.{{cite news|title = Gadhafi's Warplane Destroyed By French Fighter Jets in Misrata|url =https://abcnews.go.com/International/war-libya-moammar-gadhafi-warplane-misrata-shot-french/story?id=13210685|work = ABC News |date = 24 March 2011|accessdate = 24 March 2011}}{{cite news|title = French fighter shoots down Libyan jet|url =https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12850975|work = BBC News |date = 24 March 2011|accessdate = 24 March 2011}} A few hours later an armed forces spokesman specified that the plane was destroyed on the runway with an AASM air-to-ground missile just after it had landed.{{cite news|title = Libya live (16:22)|url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110321011504/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html|url-status =dead|archive-date =21 March 2011|work = The Telegraph|date = 24 March 2011|accessdate = 24 March 2011}}

Airlines and destinations

=Passengers=

{{Airport-dest-list

|Afriqiyah Airways|Benghazi, Cairo, Istanbul, Sfax, Tunis
Hajj & Umrah: Jeddah{{cite web|url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/283689/afriqiyah-airways-resumes-misurata-jeddah-service-in-1h19/ |title=Afriqiyah Airways resumes Misurata – Jeddah service in 1H19|publisher=Routesonline|access-date=9 September 2019}}

|Berniq Airways|Alexandria, Benghazi, Cairo, Istanbul, Tunis

|Egyptair|Cairo{{cite web |title=EGYPTAIR Sep/Oct 2023 Africa Network Additions |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/230905-mssep23af |website=Aeroroutes |access-date=5 September 2023}}

|Fly Oya|Hajj & Umrah: Jeddah{{cn|date=November 2024}}

|Global Air|Benghazi

|Libyan Airlines| Sfax, Tunis{{cite web | url=http://info.flightmapper.net/airport/MRA | title=Misurata (MRA) flight index }}

|MedSky Airways| Istanbul, Malta
Hajj & Umrah: Jeddah{{cn|date=November 2024}}

}}