Yaser Arafat International Airport
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Yaser Arafat International Airport, formerly Gaza International Airport is located in the Gaza Strip, close to the Egyptian border.
The airport was built with funding from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Germany, as well as the aid of Moroccan architects. The total cost was $86 million.
The airport was formally inaugurated on the 24 November, 1998, after a year of construction. The opening was delayed almost a year before an agreement was signed regarding the airport. It boasted intricately designed ceilings and walls and state of the art equipment.
The airport is twined with Mohammed V International Airport, in Casablanca, Morocco.
Runway
Gaza International has one runway(3080m x 60m), which is, as of 2004, unusable.
The runway, as well as the radar station and the exterior camera security system were all destroyed by the Israeli Army after the start of the 2000 intifada. Isreal claimed that the airport was used to smuggle weapons. 1
Notes
1. [1] (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7900217/)
External links
- Gaza International (http://www.gaza-airport.org/)
- Years of delays at Gaza airport at BBC News Online (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4449461.stm)