The airport also has its own VIP terminal with luxuriously decorated lounge, meeting room and bedroom. This terminal is used by Saddam Hussein to welcome foreign heads of state and other important people.
The airport is the hub of Iraqi Airways, an international airline in Iraq, but it also serves several other international airlines. On February 25th, 1986, 163, a Boeing 737 flight of Iraqi Airways from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan was hijacked. Later it crashed in Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people. On April 3, 2003, the US military headed by the US 3rd Infantry Division occupied Saddam International Airport as part of its invasion of Baghdad, and immediately changed its name to "Baghdad International Airport". At the same time, Saddam's signature was removed from the terminal and replaced by Baghdad. All pictures depicting the former leader have also been removed.
In the middle of the year, Baghdad International Airport became a small city full of tents and trailers, with 65,438+00,000 American service personnel. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided a budget of more than $654.38 million to restore the availability of terminals and airports. In June, 2003, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) established a temporary Burger King Restaurant in the headquarters area of the 1st American Armored Division at the airport. From May 2003 to the end of 2004, the Royal Australian Air Force provided air traffic control capability for the airport.
The most conspicuous and famous building in this area is the bob hope Ballroom. This is an extended dome-shaped building covered with huge white fabric. On the Thanksgiving Day of June 5438+065438+1October 27th, 2003, President Bush made a surprise visit to this banquet hall and had dinner with the waiters present. President Bush visited the troops in Bob Hope's banquet hall.
Bob hope's banquet hall and the entire complex located in the east of the airport terminal area were demolished, which were abandoned before the airport was returned to the Iraqi people in 2004.
Terminal C, one of the three boarding gate areas, was cleaned again by placing new plants and cleaning the ground. Duty-free shops have reopened, but the US military in Baghdad is still restricted from using these facilities by your legend 1. Renovation works are still under way to restore the original appearance of the airport.