- Mitiga International Airport
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Mitiga International Airport IATA: MJI – ICAO: HLLM 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′N 13°17′E / 32.9°N 13.283°ECoordinates: 32°54′N 13°17′E / 32.9°N 13.283°E Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 6,000 1,829 Asphalt 11/29 11,076 3,376 Asphalt 
Mitiga International AirportLocation of Mitiga International AirportMitiga International Airport (IATA: MJI, ICAO: HLLM) is an airport in Libya, located about 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of Tripoli's city centre.
The public airport was established in 1995. Domestic flights to Benghazi and Misrata are flown, as well as international service to Istanbul, Turkey; Rome, Italy and Aleppo, Syria. The airport houses the headquarters of Buraq Air.[1]
Contents
History
Prior to June 1970, the United States Air Force (USAF) used the facility, then known as Wheelus Air Base.
Subsequently, the facility was known as Okba Ben Nafi Air Base, a Libyan People's Air Force (LPAF) installation. In 1986, the base was a primary target of Operation El Dorado Canyon (see below), a US retaliatory strike against Libya for Libyan missile attacks on US aircraft over Libya's claimed territorial waters in the Mediterranean Sea and alleged Libyan involvement in alleged terrorist attacks on US servicemen in Europe.
Libyan/Soviet use
After the USAF left, Wheelus became a Libyan People's Air Force installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. OBN AB housed the LPAF's headquarters and a large share of its major training facilities.
LPAF Soviet-made MiG-17/19/25 fighters and Tu-22 bombers were based at Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. Of the combat aircraft, the US State Department estimated in 1983 that fifty percent remained in storage, including most of the MiG fighters and Tu-22 bombers. In addition, aircraft and personnel of the Soviet Air Force took up residence at the base.
Operation El Dorado Canyon
Main article: 1986 Bombing of Libya
Ilyushin Il-76 targeted in the bombing of 1986.
At 2 a.m. on 16 April 1986, Okba Ben Nafi AB, various Libyan government buildings, and three of thirty alleged Libyan terrorist training camps were bombed by F-111Fs from the USAFE's 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying non-stop from RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, to Libya in Operation El Dorado Canyon. The mission was in retaliation for Libyan missile attacks on US aircraft over Libya's claimed territorial waters, and alleged Libyan involvement in terrorist attacks on US servicemen in Europe.
Operation El Dorado Canyon included eighteen 48 TFW F-111F "Aardvark" fighter-bombers (Pave Tack-equipped), five EF-111A "Sparkvarks" from the 66th Electronic Combat Wing/42nd Electronic Combat Squadron at RAF Upper Heyford, UK, and carrier-based US Navy F-14 Tomcats and A-6E Intruders. The 66 ECW Sparkvarks formed up with the attack force to provide electronic defense during the attack. One 48 TFW F-111F was lost outbound from the attack to (presumably) a SAM or AAA hit.
The fourteen-hour 9,300-kilometre (5,800-mile) round trip to Libya required numerous in-air refuelings (over seven million pounds of fuel), because countries closer to Libya – Spain, Italy, France, and Greece – had refused American planes permission to fly over or from bases in their countries.
The 48 TFW had practiced for years at Wheelus with F-100s and later at Zaragoza AB Spain with F-4D Phantoms and the F-111s for just such a mission.
Post–Cold War
Okba Ben Nafi AB was apparently converted for civilian use and became Mitiga Airport in 1995, according to Italian Wikipedia.
2011 Libyan civil war
During the 2011 Libyan civil war, the The Times and The Guardian reported claims that the airport had been taken over by protestors opposed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.[2][3]
On 13 March 2011, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of the Libyan Air Force at the airport, defected and joined the anti-Gaddafi forces.[4]
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[5]
On 25 October 2011, Google Earth released mutlispectral imagery from Geo Eye taken on 28 August which showed the airfield as well as the highly capable MiG-25 aircraft without any visible damage. This imagery confirmation helps validate the reporting which suggests the airfield had been taken over early on by opposition protesters as NATO and US air forces would want to avoid collateral damage to the opposition movement.[6]
Airlines and destinations
Note: All flights were suspended during the Libyan civil war. So far, two airlines, Alitalia and Tunisair, have started new service here. Alitalia, however, will resume operations to Tripoli International Airport on 31 December 2011.
Current service
Airlines Destinations Alitalia Rome-Fiumincino [ends 31 December] Tunisair Tunis Pre civil war service that has not resumed
Airlines Destinations Buraq Air Aleppo, Benghazi Libyan Airlines Misrata See also
References
- ^ "Company Profile." Buraq Air. Retrieved 14 May 2010. "The company headquarters are located at Mittiga International Airport in Tripoli – Libya."
- ^ "Fresh Reports of Tripoli Fighting – Air Base May Have Fallen to Rebels". The Times. 25 February 2011. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110225/local/fresh-reports-of-tripoli-fighting-air-base-may-have-fallen-to-rebels. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- ^ "Libya in Turmoil – Live Updates". The Guardian. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/25/libya-turmoil-gaddafi-live. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- ^ [1]. libyafeb17.com.
- ^ Staff (20 August 2011). "Libyan Rebels in Fight for Tripoli Airbase – Activist". Reuters. http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE77J05Q20110820. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ "After Action Report: Umm Aitiqah Airfield, Libya". OSGEOINT. 28 October 2011. http://osgeoint.blogspot.com/2011/10/after-action-report-umm-aitiqah.html.
External links
- Accident history for MJI at Aviation Safety Network
- Airport information for HLLM at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
- 20th FDW/TFW F-100 photos
- Lady Be Good Official Website
- USAF Museum Lady Be Good Factsheet
- USAF Museum Lady Be Good Stained Glass Window From Wheelus AB Chapel
- Wheelus High School Ex Student Association
Tripoli Buildings and
structuresMitiga International Airport · Tripoli International Airport
HotelsBab el Bahr Hotel · Corinthia Hotel Tripoli · Grand Hotel Tripoli · Hotel Al Mehari · Hotel Casinò Uaddan · Rixos Al Nasr · JW Marriott Tripoli · Four Points by Sheraton Tripoli · Radisson Blu Al Mahary
MosquesGurgi Mosque · Tripoli Cathedral
MuseumsEpigraphy Museum of Tripoli · Ethnographic Museum of Tripoli · Islamic Museum of Tripoli · Karamanly House Museum · Natural History Museum of Tripoli · Prehistory Museum of Tripoli · Red Castle Museum
Stadia7 October Stadium · Ali Alsgozy Stadium · GMR Stadium · June 11 Stadium
OtherAbu Salim prison · University of Tripoli · Bab al-Azizia · Darghouth Turkish Bath · Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane Sculpture · Martyrs' Square, Tripoli · Libyan Studies Center · People's Hall · Tarabulus Zoo Park · Tripoli Central Hospital · Tripoli Zoo
History Siege of Tripoli (1551) · Treaty of Tripoli · Battle of Tripoli Harbor · Battle of Tripoli (1825) · 2011 Tripoli clashes · Battle of Tripoli (2011) ·Sport Al Jamarek Tripoli · Al-Ittihad Club · Alahly Tripoli S.C. · Almadina S.C. · Alwahda · Aschat S.C. · Tripoli Grand PrixOther 2011 Libyan civil war Part of the Arab Spring · Timeline (15 February–18 March · 19 March–31 May · June–15 August · 16 August–23 October)Forces Anti-Gaddafi forces (National Liberation Army – Free Libyan Air Force – NCLO) • Military of Libya (Libyan Army – Libyan Air Force – Libyan Navy) • Revolutionary Guard CorpsBattles CyrenaicaFirst Battle of Benghazi • First Battle of Brega • Battle of Ra's Lanuf • Battle of Bin Jawad • Second Battle of Brega • Battle of Ajdabiya • Second Battle of Benghazi • First Gulf of Sidra offensive • Third Battle of Brega • Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road • Cyrenaica campaign • Fourth Battle of Brega • Ra's Lanuf raidFezzanSabha clashes • Fezzan campaign • Battle of Sabha • Ghadames raidTripolitaniaFirst Tripoli clashes • Battle of Misrata • First Battle of Zawiya • Nafusa Mountain Campaign (Battle of Wazzin • Battle of Gharyan) • Battle of the Misrata frontline (Zliten uprising • Battle of Zliten • Battle of Taworgha) • Zawiya raid • Msallata clashes • Rebel coastal offensive (Second Battle of Zawiya) • Ras Ajdir clashes • Battle of Tripoli • Second Gulf of Sidra offensive (Battle of Sirte) • Battle of Bani Walid • Second Tripoli clashes
NATO operations People Anti-GaddafiMustafa Abdul Jalil • Mahmoud Jibril • Abdul Fatah Younis • Abdul Hafiz Ghoga • Suleiman Mahmoud • Omar El-Hariri • Jalal al-Digheily • Khalifa Belqasim Haftar • Ali Tarhouni • Ali Abd-al-Aziz al-Isawi • Fathi Terbil • Abdelhakim Belhadj • Abu Oweis • Mahdi al-HaratiPro-GaddafiNATOOthersMohammed Nabbous • Iman al-Obeidi • Prince Mohammed El Senussi • Prince Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi • Hussein Sadiq al MusratiPlaces, buildings
and structuresAbu Salim prison • Bab al-Azizia • Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane Sculpture • Giuliana Bridge • Green Square/Martyrs' Square • Maydan al Shajara • Mitiga International Airport • People's Hall, Tripoli • Rixos Al NasrImpact Casualties • Domestic responses (Gaddafi's response to the protests – Gaddafi's response to the civil war) • Human rights violations (Rape allegations) • Humanitarian situation (Refugees) • International reactions (International reactions to military intervention – Protests against military intervention – U.S. reactions to military intervention – International reactions to Gaddafi's death)Other Democratic Party (Libya) • Libyan Freedom and Democracy Campaign • Media • National Transitional Council • Topple the Tyrants • United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 2009 • United Nations Security Council Resolution 2016 • Voice of Free Libya • Zenga ZengaItalics denote operations or battles related to the military intervention in Libya
Category · 
Commons · 
Wikinews · 
WikiquotesCategories:- 1995 establishments
- Airports in Libya
- Buildings and structures in Tripoli
- Buildings and structures of the 2011 Libyan civil war
- Military installations of Libya
- Soviet Air Force bases
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