Port Said Airport serves the city of
Port Said
Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, at the north end of the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. In 2011, the airport served 36,962 passengers (-5.5% vs. 2010).
History
The airport was previously RAF El Gamil a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
station operational during
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
The following units were here at some point:
* Detachment from
No. 33 Squadron RAF between June and September 1941 with the
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
I
*
No. 73 Squadron RAF between 6 September 1941 and 3 February 1942 with the Hurricane I, IIB & IIC along with the
Curtiss Tomahawk IIB
* Detachment from
No. 80 Squadron RAF between May and July 1943 with the
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...
VC
* Detachment from
No. 89 Squadron RAF between December 1941 and August 1942 with the
Bristol Beaufighter IF
*
No. 94 Squadron RAF between 1 June 1942 and 14 January 1943 with the Hurricane I & IIC and the Spitfire VC
*
No. 213 (Ceylon) Squadron RAF between 25 February and 6 May 1944 with the Hurricane IIC, Spitfire VC and IX
*
No. 238 Squadron RAF between 13 January 1943 and 29 January 1944 with the Spitfire VB, VC & IX
*
No. 250 (Sudan) Squadron RAF between 3 February and 16 April 1942 with the Tomahawk IIB and Hurricane I & IIC
*
No. 451 Squadron RAAF between 4 February and 18 April 1944 with the Spitfire VC & IX
After being handed over to Egyptian authorities, El Gamil Airfield was attacked by the British Armed Forces during November 1956 as part of
Operation Telescope,
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
.
Modernisation
The airport underwent a modernisation program with a partial inauguration in February 2011. The airport is seen to be vital for the coastal city and to sustain its industrial expansion plans.
Airlines and destinations
There are currently no scheduled services to and from the airport.
Accidents and incidents
*During a training flight on 15 January 2008, a
Beech C90B King Air operated by the Nuclear Centre Survey crashed 500 meters from the airport while performing
circuits, killing both the pilot and training pilot.
Accident Report
from National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
References
*
External links
*
*
Airports in Egypt
Port Said
{{Egypt-airport-stub