Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport (Arabic: مطار شرم الشيخ الدولي Maṭār Sharm al-Shaykh al-Duwaliyy) (IATA: SSH, ICAO: HESH), formerly known as Ophira International Airport, is an international airport located in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Opened on May 14, 1968, the airport was originally an Israeli Air Force base and also served the small settlement of Ofira, before the territory was returned to Egypt following the Camp David Accords.
In 2008, the Egyptian Airports Holding Company announced plans to build a third new terminal at the airport. The company expects to receive design offers for before the end of September 2008. Ibrahim Mannaa, the director of Airports Holding Company, said that it is a move to meet the sizeable increase in passengers numbers at the airport that exceeded 28% during the first 8 months of 2008.
The largest regular aircraft operating into the airport is the Boeing 747-400 by Transaero Airlines (from Moscow); British Airways operated the only regular scheduled Boeing 777-200ER service from Gatwick Airport, which has now ceased.
In 2012, the airport served 6.6m passengers (+21.0% vs 2011). It is the third busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo International Airport and Hurghada International Airport.
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Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“It was like taking a beloved person to the airport and returning to an empty house. I miss the people. I miss the world.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)