Asmara International Airport

ASM originated in 1922, as it was built by the Italian colonial authorities, named “Aeroporto di Gura.” Initially constructed as a military airfield, it was enlarged in the mid-1930s and began being used for civilian purposes. As such, British Imperial Airways established a Kassala-Khartoum-Asmara-Massawa route on July 7th,1935. Another route was started that summer, Asmara-Assab-Mogadishu, by Ala Litoria, which launched the Mogadishu-Asmara-Khartoum-Tripoli-Rome route the following year. It was one of the first long-range flights in the world, and the route took four days to complete. The British came close to destroying the airport during WWII, which necessitated renovations during the 1950s, with initial service to Addis Ababa and other Ethiopian cities. In the 1990s, Eritrea gained its independence, and ASM was to be the international portal to the nation. Unfortunately, the airport was bombed twice during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, once in 1998 and the second in 2000. The airport’s runways were improved in the early 2000s, leading to regular service by Eritrean Airlines to Frankfurt, Milan, Nairobi, and Rome starting in April 2003. The following year the airport serviced 136,526 passengers. In 2018 renewed relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia brought about a renewal of service to Addis Ababa for the first time since the war.

The airport is located one mile southwest of Asmara. 

• Due to its small terminal, short runway, and high altitude ASM cannot service the largest aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747. Such aircraft need to use the Massawa International Airport on the Eritrean Coast. 
• ASM is also a base for the Eritrean Airforce, and it is therefore not permitted to take pictures. 
• FBOs at ASM are General Aviation Services Limited, ExecuJet Aviation Services, MTD Enterprises, and JETEX Aero.