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Iraqi Kurdistan Airport Hopes to Land
Tourists, NASA
11.10.2006 |
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There's at least one optimist in Iraq these days.
Erbil, Kurdistan Region (Iraq), October 11,
-- The Kurds are building a new $300 million airport
in Erbil city, Kurdistan Region (Iraq) that will
take the biggest aircraft in the world, including
the Russian Antonov 225 cargo plane and the American
C-5 Galaxy, which is so big that the Wright brothers
could have made their entire flight within its cargo
bay.
The Kurds are hoping their dramatic mountain region,
the one tranquil part of Iraq, will become a tourist
haven as
well as a transit refueling stop for international
carriers between Europe and Asia or Australia.
But Kurdistan Regional Government Civil Aviation
Director Zaid Zwain hopes the airport, scheduled for
completion next year, will intrigue another
potential customer: NASA. |
Russian Antonov 225 |
When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's military
aircraft developed technical problems in Erbil last
week, Zwain took advantage of the two-hour delay to
tell U.S. officials and journalists about his goal
of becoming a backup landing strip for NASA shuttles
for emergency landings.
The runway will be about three miles long -- just a
bit longer than the length required by the space
shuttle, he told members of the U.S. delegation. "If
you have any trouble," Zwain offered, "you can land
here free of charge."
washingtonpost com
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