Sulaimaniyah International Airport

Sulaymaniyah International Airport
مطار السليمانية الدولي
فڕۆکەخانەی نێودەوڵەتی سلێمانی
Summary
OperatorFederal government of Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government[1]
ServesSulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Elevation AMSL2,492 ft / 760 m
Coordinates35°33′39″N 45°18′52″E / 35.56083°N 45.31444°E / 35.56083; 45.31444
Websitesulairport.krd
Map
ISU
Location in Iraq
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 3,500 11,483 Concrete
Statistics (2022)
Passengers428,609
Aircraft operations5,513
Source: ICAA,[2] COSIT.[3]

Jalal Talabani International Airport, formerly known as Sulaymaniyah International Airport (IATA: ISU, ICAO: ORSU) is 14 kilometers west of the city of Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The airport encompasses an approximate area of 13.5 square kilometers. The combined capacity of the airport terminals is currently set at 1.5 million passengers per year and can be expanded to accommodate up to 3 million passengers annually. [4]

In 2025, Sulaymaniyah International Airport was officially renamed Jalal Talabani International Airport, in honor of the late Jalal Talabani, former President of Iraq and a prominent Kurdish leader. The renaming followed a proposal from the Jalal Talabani Foundation, and was approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. This gesture recognizes Talabani’s long political career, his role in Iraq’s post-Saddam era, and his contributions to Kurdish and Iraqi unity.[5]

History

Following the removal of Saddam Hussein, the construction of the airport began in November 2003, and it was inaugurated by former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani in July 2005. International flights were shut down from 29 September 2017 following a decision taken by the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), but the airport remained open for domestic and humanitarian flights.[6] The international flights ban was lifted in March 2018.[7] It is operated by the Iraqi Government since 2017.

Facilities

The airport has facilities for both cargo and passengers. Sulaymaniyah International Airport has three terminals; for departures, arrivals and VIPs.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
AJetIstanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[8]
Condor Düsseldorf[9]
flydubaiDubai–International[10]
Iraqi AirwaysBaghdad, Basra, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai–International, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Mahan AirTehran–Imam Khomeini[11]
Qatar Airways Doha
Royal Jordanian Amman–Queen Alia
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[12]

Statistics

As of 2022, Sulaymaniyah International Airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Iraq by total passenger traffic, behind the airports in Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Basra.

Year Passengers Cargo Aircraft operations
Total %YoY Tons %YoY Movements %YoY
2015 574,645 N.D. N.D. N.D. 6,999 N.D.
2016 525,993 8.5% 198.4 N.D. N.D. N.D.
2017 485,156 7.8% 38.5 80.6% 7,550 N.D.
2018 309,869 36.1% N.D. N.D. 5,392 28.6%
2019 474,919 53.3% 13,567.8 N.D. 7,500 39.1%
2020 124,223 73.8% 10,489.0 22.7% 2,495 66.7%
2021 277,541 123.4% N.D. N.D. 4,257 70.6%
2022 428,609 54.4% 3,857.5 N.D. 5,513 29.5%

Source: COSIT. Air Transport Activity Statistics, years 2015,[13] 2016,[14] 2017,[15] 2018,[16] 2019,[17] 2020,[18] 2021[19] and 2022.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kurdish government accepts Baghdad's conditions to end dispute". Arab News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Iraq's AIP. Consolidated edition, February, 2021" (PDF). Retrieved 15 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2022" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ^ "About". www.sulairport.krd. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Sulaimaniyah International Airport Officially Becomes Jalal Talabani International Airport". www.pjtfoundation.org. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Iraqi govt enforces international flight ban in Kurdistan region". France 24. 29 September 2017.
  7. ^ Mostafa, Mohamed (20 March 2018). "Kurdistan's Sulaymaniyah sets first foreign flight since Iraqi embargo lifted". www.iraqinews.com.
  8. ^ "AJet'in Süleymaniye ve Basra Uçuşları Başlıyor" (in Turkish).
  9. ^ "Condor mit neuen Routen ab Düsseldorf und Frankfurt". aerotelegraph.com. 14 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Sulaimaniyah travel guide". www.flydubai.com.
  11. ^ "Mahan Air resumes flights between Tehran and Sulaymaniyah on 10JUN18. One weekly, A310. #Iran". Twitter. 24 May 2018.
  12. ^ (in Turkish)"THY’nin Süleymaniye Programı Belli Oldu"
  13. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2015" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  14. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2016" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  15. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2017" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  16. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2018" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  17. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2019" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  18. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2020" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  19. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2021" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  20. ^ "اﻟﻧﻘل اﻟﺟوي ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع اﻟﺣﮐوﻣﻲ إﺣﺻﺎء ﻧﺷﺎط ﺔـ ﻟﺳﻧ 2022" (PDF). Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
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