Sharm El Sheikh International Airport مطار شرم الشيخ الدولي |
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public (former Military) | ||||||||||||||
Operator | Government | ||||||||||||||
Serves | Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | ||||||||||||||
Hub for | |||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 143 ft / 44 m | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 27°58′38″N 34°23′41″E / 27.97722°N 34.39472°ECoordinates: 27°58′38″N 34°23′41″E / 27.97722°N 34.39472°E | ||||||||||||||
Website | sharm-el-sheikh-airport.com | ||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||
Location of airport in Sinai | |||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2010) | |||||||||||||||
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Source: DAFIF
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Passenger throughput | 8,693,990 |
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Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (Arabic: مطار شرم الشيخ الدولي Maṭār Sharm El Sheikh El Dawli) (IATA: SSH, ICAO: HESH), is an international airport located in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It is the third busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo International Airport and Hurghada International Airport.
The airport was opened on May 14, 1968 as an Israeli Air Force base. After the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979 and Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, it was reopened as a civilian airport.
In 2008 the Egyptian Airports Holding Company (EAHC) announced plans to build a third terminal at the airport. The company expects to receive design offers before the end of September 2008. EAHC Director Ibrahim Mannaa said that it is a move to meet the sizeable increase in passengers numbers at the airport, which exceeded 28% during the first eight months of 2008.
The largest regular aircraft operating into the airport was the Boeing 747-400 by Transaero Airlines (from Moscow); Transaero ceased operations in October 2015. British Airways operated the only regular scheduled Boeing 777-200ER service (from Gatwick Airport); this has now ceased due to concerns in the aftermath of Metrojet Flight 9268.
In 2008, the Egyptian Airports Holding Company announced plans to build a third new terminal at the airport. In July 2009 the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) signed a contract with Spanish construction designers Pointec for the third terminal. The terminal was planned to double the airport's capacity from 7.5 to 15 million passengers per year. The project's primary costs were estimated at $350 million. The design phase was due to be completed by early 2010. International contractors then were invited for an open tender to construct the terminal which was scheduled to be completely constructed by 2015. However, as of September 2016 construction has not commenced yet.