Sarajevo International Airport reopened for civil air traffic in 1996, attended by Izetbegović and Christopher

(Patria) - On this day, August 16, 1996, after four years, Sarajevo International Airport was reopened for civil air traffic. The first post-war flights were carried out by the Turkish airline Top Air and Croatia Airlines, thus returning Sarajevo to the map of international destinations and opening new opportunities for travel and connection.

They finished the year 1996 with 26,000 passengers, and 28 years later, Sarajevo International Airport is breaking million-passenger records, continuing its growth and connecting Sarajevo with the whole world.

"Today, thanks to the trust of our passengers and the support of our partners in cooperation with numerous airlines operating from Sarajevo International Airport, we connect our city with over 30 European and world destinations," stated SIA.

The ceremony of the post-war opening was attended by the then President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, and the US Secretary of State, Warren Christopher.

Otherwise, during the aggression against BiH (1992-1995), only official planes and planes with humanitarian aid landed at the airport.

From April 1996, part of the Airport was managed by the civil authorities of BiH. In that month, the fight to restore the Airport of Sarajevo to its true function - civil aviation - began. It started practically from scratch. Some used equipment was donated to the Airport, the sorting facility was renovated and converted into a makeshift terminal.

After a short training in Turkey, the workers took over their long-awaited jobs, and everything slowly started to move forward, until August 16, 1996, when the Sarajevo Airport finally opened for civil traffic.

The general reconstruction of the airport terminal building with completely new technology and top-quality equipment was successfully completed at the beginning of 2001. with a ceremonial opening in March 2001.

In the last few years, Sarajevo International Airport has been working on modernization and capacity expansion, and runway expansion works are also underway.

Sarajevo International Airport is owned by the Government of the Federation, and the international community is openly asking for the Sarajevo airport to be granted a concession to an international company.