Aden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen and the oldest airport in the Arabian peninsula. Prior to its use as a civil air facility, the aerodrome was known as RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. In the 1970s and 1980s it was both a civilian airport and a Soviet Air Force air base. It continues to be used for military purposes by the Yemeni Air Force. History The airport was established on the former RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. It later served as a Soviet Air Force station during the 1970s and 1980s. From 1971 until 1996 it was also the main hub of Alyemda Yemen Democratic Airlines. It is the second-largest airport in Yemen after Sana'a International Airport. The new terminal was built between 1983 and 1985, with a capacity of one million passengers a year. A major reconstruction and expansion of Aden International was completed in 2001, including a new runway that can handle large, long-haul aircraft. In 2000 the constructions at the new control tower and airport department building were completed. Plans to make that airport a regional cargo hub, with an "air cargo village" by 2004 appear to have failed. Although construction began in January 2003, by the end of the year the managing company had dissolved. During the Yemeni Civil War in the Aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen, the city of Aden including its airport became a battleground. The Battle of Aden Airport took place on 19 March 2015, with Houthi forces mounting an attack on the airport that was repelled by forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Operations were suspended for months, owing to bombing by the Saudi Air Force in Operation Decisive Storm. On 22 July 2015, the airport was declared fit for operation again, as a Saudi plane carrying aid reportedly became the first plane to land in Aden in four months. Two days later two more Saudi planes landed carrying the equipment needed to resume operations, to enable aid to be delivered to the embattled country. On 26 November 2015, the airport re-opened briefly for civilian air traffic after being closed for 10 months, with a Yemenia flight arriving from Amman-Queen Alia international Airport in Jordan. Service for the next three months was sporadic, but at the