WHEELUS TODAY:
MITIGA AIRPORT
Okba Ben Nafi Air Base
After the closure of Wheelus on the 11th June 1970, the former U.S base was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base and was used by the Libyan People's Air Force (LPAF), housing the headquarters and the majority of the nations training resources. It was also home to the Libyan People's Air Forces, Russian - made MiG-17s, 19’s and 25’s and the Tupolev Tu-22 supersonic bombers1.
Libyan People's Air Force Mirage F1ED, Rob Schleiffert, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
On the 16th April 1986, the base was the targeted by the U.S Air Force in a retaliatory strike against Libya for missile attacks on U.S aircraft over a dispute regarding territorial waters in the Mediterranean and also the Libyan involvement in the terrorist bombing attacks on U.S servicemen in Europe2.
An American 48th Tactical Fighter Wing F-111F aircraft taking off from RAF Lakenheath in April 1986 to participate in an air strike against Libya.
SSGT Woodward, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In 1995, Okba Ben Nafi AB was converted for civilian use and became Mitiga Airport.The airport also houses the headquarters of Buraq Air3. Mitiga currently serves as the main airport for the city of Tripoli, this is due to the damage incurred at Tripoli’s Idris International Airport, through ongoing violence and conflict in the area4.
Mitiga Airport, Photo by Rob Schleiffert, via Wikimedia Commons
FOOTNOTES
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 17). Mitiga International Airport. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitiga_International_Airport.
Ibid.,
Ibid.,
Tripoli Mitiga Airport. CAPA - Centre for Aviation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airports/tripoli-mitiga-airport-mji