Rene Mouawad Air Base
Rene Mouawad Air Base قاعدة الرئيس الشهيد رينيه معوض الجوية Qaeida al-Raʾīs al-Šahīd Rene Muʿawwad | |||||||||||
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| Airport type | Joint (civil and military) | ||||||||||
| Operator | Military and civil | ||||||||||
| Location | Akkar District, Akkar Governorate, Lebanon | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 23 ft / 7 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°35′22″N 36°00′41″E / 34.58944°N 36.01139°E | ||||||||||
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Rene Mouawad Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة الرئيس الشهيد رينيه معوض الجوية Qaeida al-Raʾīs al-Šahīd Rene Muʿawwad al jawiya), is the military section of Rene Mouawad Airport, formerly and still sometimes known as Qoleiat air base (مطار القليعات, Maṭār al-Qulayʿat), used to be a military-civil joint airport in North Lebanon, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the Lebanese–Syrian border.
History
Qeiaat Airfield was originally built by the French army in 1938. In the early 1960s, the airbase was a small airport owned by the Tripoli oil company, who used small IPC airplanes for transporting its engineers, staff and workers between Lebanon and the Arab countries.[1] In 1966, the Lebanese Army took control of the airport beginning the expansion and development of its technological capabilities. It later became one of the most modernized air bases in the region. According to an agreement signed by the Lebanese and French republic, a number of Dassault Mirage III aircraft were supplied to the air force which saw pilots and technicians being sent to France to continue some courses related to the specified planes. In the beginning of 1968, the military personnel finished their courses abroad and returned to Lebanon, with some pilots and technicians being transferred from Rayak Air Base to the Kleyate base. In April of the same year, two aircraft, flown by Lebanese pilots, arrived to Lebanon and other non-stop flights continued until June 1969.[2]
Later during the Lebanese Civil War period, flights were significantly reduced and the aircraft were kept in storage. In November 1989, the Lebanese parliament met at the airport after the Taif Agreement and elected René Moawad president. Having been assassinated in Beirut seventeen days later, the airport was later renamed in his honor, by a decree from the Lebanese parliament, and thus the airbase was established and became under the control of the Lebanese Air Force (in regards to the equipment and facilities) and under the jurisdiction of the North regional command (in regards to defense and order).[2]
In 1990, the Middle East Airlines ran flights between this air base and Beirut to serve Tripoli and the surrounding area.[3]
On July 13, 2006, the Israeli Air Force bombed the airbase during the 2006 Israel Lebanon conflict.[4] The airport has since been repaired and in service, mainly by the Lebanese Air Force, although domestic flights may be flown in the near future connecting Beirut and Tripoli. To date, however, there has been no discussion on the matter.
Currently very little military activity is going on at Rene Mouawad Air Base, currently SA 330 Puma helicopters are stationed and operated from there [5]
Future development
Since the late 2000s, there have been plans to convert Rene Mouawad Air Base into a modern international airport to serve Northern Lebanon have been talked about, however nothing has happened ever since.[6][7][8]
On 25 March 2025, the latest plans to convert Rene Mouawad Airbase into an civil international airport have come out by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced, during a meeting at the airport's premises, that the airport would be functional as a civilian airport within a year.[9]
See also
References
- ^ Dorandeu, Guilhem (8 April 2024). "Lebanon's forgotten airfields". L'Orient-Le Jour. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ a b قطعة عريقة عمرها من عمر الجيش اللبناني. Lebanese Army Magazine (in Arabic). March 16, 2004. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
- ^ "Tripoli" (in French). Baron & Baron. Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ^ "Israeli Warplanes Attack Beirut Airport". Associated Press. 2006-07-13.
- ^ https://www.flightglobal.com/download?ac=106507
- ^ "Lebanon to expand Beirut capacity and open new airport for LCC and cargo flights". Arabian Aerospace. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ "ملف مطار القليعات أمام مجلس الوزراء!". a5r5br.net (in Arabic). 2025-02-16. Retrieved 2025-02-16.
- ^ "وعد من سلام بتلزيم مطار القليعات". Kataeb Party (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-02-16.
- ^ https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1453264/salam-from-tripoli-the-government-commits-to-preserving-the-citys-stability.html
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