The losses differ from tour company to tour company, Khasro notes. “But we are a big company with branches right around the country and we are seeing significant losses,” he concedes. “Our monthly expenses are around US$250,000 and at the moment we are not even making 10 percent of that.”
The two airports have different levels of revenue: Erbil airport is a lot bigger than Sulaymaniyah. But losses due to the international travel ban are about US$1 million a day, reports Omed Mohammed, the spokesperson for Iraqi Kurdistan’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, based in Erbil.
“When we talk about the losses caused by the closures, there are a lot of things to be considered,” Mohammed told NIQASH. “It’s not only about the suspension of flights that were bringing in 3,500 people a day. We also have to consider the airlines’ losses, travel agencies, customs agents, duty free shops and many other revenues. The whole sector is losing about US$1 million per day.”
And there is no new information about when the airports will reopen either, Saleh concluded, other than attempts to reach an agreement and have international flights resume are ongoing.
The committee on municipalities, transport, communication and tourism in the Iraqi Kurdish parliament doesn’t have any better news either.
“We consider the decision a form of collective punishment by the Iraqi government,” Kurdish politician and committee member, Abbas Fattah, told NIQASH. “However, we can’t despair and we will continue efforts to get the airports open again, and to reach an agreement with the central government.”
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