Benina International Airport (IATA:BEN,ICAO:HLLB) (Arabic:مطار بنينا الدولي) servesBenghazi, Libya. It is located in the borough ofBenina, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Benghazi, from which it takes its name. The airport is operated by theCivil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the second largest in the country afterTripoli International Airport. Benina was a critical airport during theNorth African Campaign ofWorld War II. Benina International is also the secondary hub of bothBuraq Air and flag carrier,Libyan Airlines. In July 2014 all flights to the airport were suspended due to fighting in the area.[4] Three years later, in July 2017, the airport was reopened for limited commercial flights and as of 2025 there are multiple international flights to and from the airport.[5]
While there are scant records of the establishment of an airport in Benghazi / Benina, Italy began expanding infrastructure and their new colony, including railroads during the 1910's - 1920's.[6][7] In order to support various military campaigns, the ItalianCorpo Aeronautico Miltare (Military Aviation Corps) built various facilities to extend control, including the Benina airport on the outskirts of Benghazi.[8] The aviation facilities included airfields, landing grounds and emergency landing grounds. Many of these facilities were only open plots of desert land with markers and minimal or no structures, often utilizing tents for shelter. The Luftwaffe took a special interest in Benina, receiving the most improvements out of all of the facilities in Libya.[7]
During theSecond Italio-Abyssian War, the Italians were reported to have used Benina to store sulphur mustard chemical weapons, later found by the British.[10]
DuringWorld War II the, as an Axis powerRegia Aeronatica (successor to the Corpo Aeronautico Miltare) used Benina as a base. By 1941, the airbase had a single 1100 m x 230 m firm clay runway, and it was equipped for night landings. There were nine underground and eight above ground fuel tanks, with a fuel dump 8 km outside of the base as well as a munitions dump. There were administrative buildings, officer quarters and 34 huts for ground personnel. There was also a satellite field (Benina South) 1.5 km south of the main base, with a 1680 m x 1110 m clay surface runway.[7]
List of Italian Units:
7º Gruppo Comb (Sep-Nov 40)
10º Gruppo CT (Jun 40)
12º Gruppo Assalto (Jun, Dec 40)
16º Gruppo Assalto (Dec 40); 17º Gruppo CT (Nov 41)
30º Gruppo BT (Jun-Jul 40)
32º Gruppo BT (Jun 40)
33º Gruppo BT (Aug-Sep, Dec 40)
35º Gruppo BT (Sep-Oct 40)
36º Gruppo BT (Sep-Oct 40)
46º Gruppo BT (Jun 40)
47º Gruppo BT (Jun 40)
52º Gruppo BT (Dec 40)
53º Gruppo BT (Dec 40)
54º Gruppo Autonomo BT (Dec 40);
59º Gruppo BT (Oct 40 – Apr 41?)
60º Gruppo BT (Oct 40 – Apr 41?)
67º Gruppo OA (Sep 40)
Italian aircraft at the base includedSM.79 medium bombers,CR.32 biplanes andSM.81 transport/bombers.[11][12][7]
As the German military became more involved in the North African Campaign, the Luftwaffe had more of a presence at Benina. They made general improvements to the field and based multiple different units and aircraft at the field.
German aircraft stationed at the base includedJu 52 transports,Ju 88 bombers,Bf 110 fighters andBf 109 fighters.[7]
During theNorth African campaign, control of the area see-sawed between Axis and Allied forces until the British finally captured the entire Benghazi area for good at the end of 1942.[13][14][7][15] WhenMarshall Tedder visited Benina in January 1942 during a brief period of British control, he witnessed "...an extraordinary sight, littered with aircraft...in all stages of repair and disrepair...deliberately demolished...others equally knocked out by our bombing and low shoot-ups".[16] TheBritish SAS made attacks in the Benghazi area (Operation Bigamy), including at Benina, reportedly destroying several aircraft.[17][7] However, other reports indicate these raids were a failure, and that the Germans may have sabotaged the aircraft.[18]
Part of a group of airports in the Benghazi region, Benina is frequently (incorrectly) referenced as Soluch Airfield during the USAAF usage.Soluch (alternatively spelledSuluq) is 60 km to the south of Benina. Soluch was a landing ground with minimal facilities and infrequently used by the Axis. The USAAF possibly intended to develop Soluch into a major airbase, but due to accessibility issues it was dropped without any major improvements.[7] Given their close proximity and movement of units between the two airfields, many sources confabulate Soluch with Benina as the airport associated with the missing B-24 "Lady Be Good".
In addition to Soluch, there are other airfields located in the Benghazi region that are associated (or misidentified) with Benina, includingLete Airfield (10 km east of Benghazi) andBerca Airfield, located in the Al Birkah suburb of Benghazi.[19][7]
At the end of the war, the USAAF closed all of their bases surrounding Benghazi.[19]
By 1953, British military maintained airbases in three locations, including Tripoli,El Adem and Benina.[26] In March of 1970, the last British troops had been expelled from the country, including those station at Benina.[27] This coincided with the planned withdrawal of the US military fromWheelus Air Base. Prior to this, the US conducted a survey to expanding theRoyal Libyan Air Force to two bases, including at Benina.[26]
In 1986, as part ofOperation El Dorado Canyon, aircraft from theUSAF48th Tactical Fighter Wing, based in theUnited Kingdom, launched at attack on multiple targets, including Benina and Tripoli airports.[28][29] According to reports, "Damage at both airfields was heavy - two transport aircraft destroyed and 12 damaged, two helicopters destroyed and 10 to 15 damaged, and as many as 14MiG23s destroyed. The runways were also heavily cratered."[30]
A new terminal with a capacity of 5 million passengers was to be developed north of the existing runway at Benina International under a 720 million LYD (€415 million) first-stage contract awarded to Canada'sSNC-Lavalin as of 2008. The final cost was estimated at 1.1 billion LYD (€630 million).
As with Tripoli International Airport, the new terminal was designed by Aéroports de Paris Engineering. Preliminary work and site preparation had started as of May 2008, but it remains unclear when the terminal will be open for operation.[31] The contract for Benina International Airport included construction of a new international terminal, runway, and apron. The new airport would have been part of an extensive new infrastructure programme being undertaken by the government of Libya throughout the country.
In March 2011 (2011-03), forces loyal toMuammar Gaddafi bombed the airport.[32] No damages were reported to facilities.[33]
As part of humanitarian efforts by the Italian government, flights of military C130's flew into Benina to offer aid and medical support in the 2011 and 2017.[34][35]
Fighting in the nearby city of Benghazi during the civil war spread to the airport during 2014.[36]
The airport was closed on 16 May 2014, due to clashes in the area between militias and forces loyal to GeneralKhalifa Haftar.[37] By August 2014, international airlines had suspended all flights to Libya.[38] The airport was subsequently closed to passenger traffic.[39]
On 15 July 2017, the airport was reopened for commercial flights after three-years of closure due to fighting in Benghazi.[40]Reuters reported that the first flights (operated byLibyan Airlines andAfriqiyah Airways) were to within the country to Tripoli andKufra, and toAmman in Jordan. Additionally scheduled flights were planned to the Libyan city ofZintan, and toTunis (Tunisia),Istanbul (Turkey) andAlexandria (Egypt).[37]
Flights were again suspended for 18 months, resuming in October 2020.[41]
In 2025, multiple countries had evaluated the possibility of resuming additional commercial flights, including direct flights from Rome and from Saudi Arabia.[42][5]
On 21 February 1973,Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, aBoeing 727-200, leftTripoli and flew to Benina, for its scheduledstopover. After taking off, it became lost because of a combination of bad weather and equipment failure overNorthern Egypt. Unknowingly, its pilot, a French citizen, entered Israelicontrolled airspace over theSinai Peninsula, where it was intercepted by two IsraeliF-4 Phantom IIs; once the pilot had reversed course and the plane was already on its way out of the Sinai, it was shot down by the Israeli fighter pilots after they did not receive a response to their demands for the aircraft to land. Of the 113 people on board, there were five survivors, including the co-pilot, as 108 civilians were killed in the incident.[59]
On 20 July 1973,Japan Air Lines Flight 404, aBoeing 747-246B was apassenger flight which washijacked by Palestinian and Japanese terrorists. After several Middle Eastern governments refused to permit Flight 404 to land, the plane eventually touched down inDubai, in theUnited Arab Emirates. After several days on the ground, the terrorists demanded the release ofKozo Okamoto, survivor of theJRA's attack onTel Aviv's Lod Airport. After the Israeli government refused to release Okamoto, the hijackers flew the aircraft first toDamascus,Syria, and then toBenghazi, inLibya. On 23 July, 89 hours after the hijacking began, the passengers and crew were released; the hijackers then blew up the aircraft, making the incident thesecond hull loss of a Boeing 747.[60]
On 2 December 1977, aTupolev Tu-154 (registration LZ-BTN) passenger jetran out of fuel andcrashed nearBenghazi,Libya. A total of 59 passengers were killed. The aircraft took off fromKing Abdulaziz International Airport inSaudi Arabia on a flight to Benina International Airport. With a crew of 6 and 159 passengers – pilgrims returning toLibya from theHajj – on board. Egyptian airspace was closed to Libyan aircraft at the time, necessitating an indirect route to Benghazi instead of the direct route acrossEgypt; the crew reportedly did not plan for the longer flight time, leaving the aircraft short of fuel. As the aircraft neared Benghaziheavy fog blanketed the airport and the crew could not land the aircraft. After failing to locate the alternate airport the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed during the crew's subsequent attempt to make an emergency landing, killing 59 passengers.[61]
^Stephen, Chris; Willsher, Kim (24 February 2016)."French special forces assisting anti-Isis efforts in Libya, say sources".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved30 June 2018.A small French detachment has been operating from Benghazi's Benina airport, the sources have reported, assisting forces of the internationally backed Libyan authorities in Tobruk.
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