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Mitiga International Airport مطار معيتيقة الدولي | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Joint (Public and military) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Tripoli, Libya | ||||||||||||||
| Built | 1995 (established as public airport) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 36 ft / 11 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32°54′N13°17′E / 32.900°N 13.283°E /32.900; 13.283 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | https://www.mitiga-airport.ly | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  MJI Location within Libya | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Mitiga International Airport (IATA:MJI,ICAO:HLLM) (مطار معيتيقة الدولي) is anairport that servesTripoli, Libya, located about 8 kilometres (5 miles) east ofTripoli's city centre. Since 2018 it has been the sole international airport serving Tripoli following the closure ofTripoli International Airport after it was severely damaged in thesecond Libyan civil war.
The airport has a diverse international history and has been known by a variety of names. It was originally built in 1923 as an Italian air force base calledaeroporto militare di Mellaha. It became a German air base during World War II. The airbase was captured by the British8th Army in January 1943 and transferred to the control of theUS Army Air Forces, who called it Mellaha AAF until 1945, when they renamed itWheelus Air Base for a US airman killed that year. American use continued until the1969 Libyan coup d'état and the subsequent expiration of the lease. When the Americans left, the base was renamedOkba Ben Nafi Air Base (قاعدة عقبة بن نافع الجوية) after theIslamic general who conqueredNorth Africa. It was used by both the Libyan and Soviet air forces. The United States bombed the base in 1986 duringOperation El Dorado Canyon. In 1995, the air base was converted to a second civilian airport for Tripoli, and was given its current name.
The airport was originally built in 1923 by theItalian Air Force asMellaha Air Base (الملاّحة). A motor racing circuit was subsequently built around the airport and Mellaha Lake began hosting the popularTripoli Grand Prix in 1933.[1]
Mellaha was used by the GermanLuftwaffe during theNorth African Campaign,[2] with the Germans using it for short rangerecon units, as well as coastal and naval recon units. Special weather recon units also existed at Mehalla. The main Luftwaffe unit stationed at the base was the 2nd Staffel of the Aufklärungsgruppe (H) 14 or 2.(H)/14. The squadron was equipped with twelve single-engineHenschel Hs 126, an aircraft with a 2-man crew, which could cover approx 710 km, with a maximum speed of 360 km/h, as well as threeFieseler Fi 156 Storch liaison aircraft, and aJunkers Ju 52 for transport of men and materiel.[citation needed]
The airbase was captured by theBritish 8th Army in January 1943. TheUS Army Air Force began using Mellaha as a base in January 1943. It was used by the376th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the12th Air Force forConsolidated B-24 Liberator bomb missions intoItaly and southern parts ofGermany. In addition, Mellaha Field was used byAir Transport Command. It functioned as a stopover en route toBenina Airport nearBenghazi or toTunis Airport,Tunisia on the North AfricanCairo-Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel.[3]
On 15 April 1945, Mellaha AAF was taken over byUSAAF'sAir Training Command. It was renamed Wheelus Army Air Field (AAF) on 17 May 1945 in honor of USAAF Lieutenant Richard Wheelus who had died earlier that year in aplane crash inIran. During the USAFs tenure, the base was extended, demolishing the derelict motor-racing buildings. A 1954 agreement with Libya extended use of the base until 1971, but changing needs led the United States to withdraw completely by 1970, handing the facility over to the new Libyan government that had taken power a year earlier in the1969 Libyan coup d'état.[4]
After the US Air Force left in 1970, the base was renamedOkba Ben Nafi Air Base (seemingly after the legendary heroUqba ibn Nafi) and served as aLibyan People's Air Force (LPAF) installation. The base housed the LPAF's headquarters and a large share of its major training facilities. In addition, aircraft and personnel of theSoviet Air Force took up residence at the base.[citation needed]
LPAF Soviet-madeMiG-17/19/25 fighters andTu-22 bombers were based at Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. Of the combat aircraft, theUS State Department estimated in 1983 that fifty percent remained in storage, including most of the MiG fighters andTu-22 bombers.
The base was a primary target of the1986 United States bombing of Libya (Operation "El Dorado Canyon"), launched against Libya due to missile attacks on US aircraft and Libyan involvement in terrorist attacks against US servicemen in Europe.[5] At 2 a.m. on 16 April 1986, Okba Ben Nafi AB, various Libyan government buildings, and three alleged Libyan terrorist training camps were bombed byGeneral Dynamics F-111 Aardvarks from the48th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying from the United Kingdom, to Libya.
The raid included eighteen F-111 fighter-bombers, fiveGeneral Dynamics–Grumman EF-111A Raven from the66th Electronic Combat Wing/42nd Electronic Combat Squadron, and carrier-based NavyF-14 Tomcats andA-6E Intruders. The EF-111s formed up with the attack force to provide electronic defense during the attack. One 48 TFW F-111F was lost presumably to asurface-to-air missile or AAA hit. The 48 TFW that bombed the base had practiced for years withF-100s at this very same air base when it was Wheelus Air Base and later atZaragoza AB Spain withF-4D Phantoms and F-111s for similar missions.
Okba Ben Nafi AB was converted for civilian use and became Mitiga Airport in 1995.[6] The airport also housed the headquarters ofBuraq Air.[7]
During the2011 Libyan civil war, theTimes of Malta andThe Guardian reported claims that the airport had been taken over by protesters opposed to Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi.[8][9] On 13 March 2011, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of theLibyan Air Force at the airport, defected and joined theanti-Gaddafi forces.[10] On 21 August 2011, rebels launched an assault on Mitiga as part of a bid to battle loyalist forces in Tripoli, sustaining a number of casualties in the process.[11] On 25 October 2011Google Earth releasedmultispectral imagery fromGeoEye taken on 28 August 2011 which showed the airfield as well as the highly capableMiG-25 aircraft with no visible damage. This imagery helped corroborate reporting which suggested that the airfield had been taken over early on by opposition protesters; moreover,NATO and US air forces would have wanted to avoid collateral damage to the opposition movement.[12]
During the2019–20 Western Libya campaign, the airport, held by military units loyal to theGovernment of National Accord, was repeatedly targeted withairstrikes from the opposingLibyan National Army[13] in order to enforce ano-fly zone declared by the LNA several days prior.[14] On 8 April 2019, an airport spokesman announced that the airport was forced to close due to airstrikes.[15][16]
TunisAir was the first foreign carrier to resume flights to the airport, in May 2021.[17]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Egyptair Cargo | Cairo,Ostend[31] |
| MNG Airlines | Istanbul[32] |
| Turkish Cargo | Istanbul[33] |
| ULS Airlines Cargo | Istanbul |
Media related toMitiga International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
