A new international airport was inaugurated Sunday in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, Kurdistan24 news portal reported.

The first plane to land on the airport runway was a government plane, which brought Iraqi Transportation Minister Nasser al-Shibli and Acting Minister of Finance Hayyam Nimat to Kirkuk for the official opening of the air harbor.

According to Iraqi news agency INA, Kirkuk airport will begin accepting international flights as early as today.

Kirkuk international airport meets all international standards and requirements and is ready to accept any flights, the portal quotes the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority.

The airport in Kirkuk was built in the seventies of the last century, but was used as an Iraqi military airbase.

From 2003 to 2011, the airport was actively used by U.S. troops.

Reconstruction of the airport began in 2018 after Iraqi government forces regained control of Kirkuk, formerly under the control of Kurdish militias.