After the war, a Croatia Airlines plane was the first to land at Sarajevo Airport

Sarajevo Airport was opened for civil traffic on August 16, 1996, after being closed for more than four years due to the conflict in the country, reports the Patria news agency.

The takeover of Sarajevo Airport by the former JNA began on the night between April 4 and 5, 1992. The airport was looted, devastated and completely destroyed, after which all civil flight traffic was completely suspended.

Four years later, the airport would receive part of its equipment from various humanitarian organizations and countries; the sorting facility was repaired and turned into a makeshift terminal. After brief training in Turkey, workers took up their long-awaited positions, and on August 16, Sarajevo Airport was finally opened for civil traffic.

A Croatia Airlines plane was the first to land at the renovated Sarajevo Airport, thus reopening it for regular civil traffic.

Croatia Airlines established a connection between Sarajevo and Zagreb, and the Turkish company Top Air between Sarajevo and Istanbul. By the end of that year, Sarajevo Airport handled 26,000 passengers and was the only functioning airport for civil aviation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The general reconstruction of the airport terminal building with completely new technology was successfully completed in early 2001, reports NAP.