By Patrick M Schmidt. In the wake of other airlines and the American Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ban for American commercial airlines, Abu Dhabi based airline, Etihad Airways, has announced that they will redirect their aircraft around Iraqi airspace. The airline has cancelled all flights to Erbil, but will maintain its current flight operations to […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Following the announcement of targeted strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declared that American airlines could no longer transit through Iraqi airspace. This statements comes following other individual airlines rerouting their flights around Iraq. The FAA had previously mandated that American […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Willie Walsh, Chief Executive Officer of British Airways (BA), defended the company’s decision to continue allowing their flights to across through Iraqi airspace. BA flights to Dubai and Doha regularly operate over Iraq for a portion of the flight. "We fly over Iraq because we consider it safe. If we thought […]
By John Lee. Royal Jordanian (RJ) has announced the resumption of its service to Iraq, after suspending it for 24 hours for security concerns. As of Sunday, RJ resumed its regular operation to Baghdad, Erbil and Basra, while it is expecting to resume flights to Suleimaniyah soon. RJ operates regular flights to five Iraqi cities; […]
By John Lee. After renewed consultation with the relevant national security authorities, the Lufthansa Group has decided to resume flights to Erbil in northern Iraq from Monday. Erbil lies well outside the direct crisis zone in Iraq, and flights to and from the city will be routed to avoid overflying the zone. Lufthansa flies twice-weekly […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Following the Malaysian Airlines MH17 incident in Ukraine, the United States has taken a closer look at events in Iraq in relation to commercial airline safety and security. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that American commercial aircraft with flight plans over Iraqi airspace must maintain an altitude above 30,000 […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Sir Tim Clark, Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines, has announced that the airline would no longer allow its own aircraft to fly over Iraq. This statement comes as a reaction to the missile strike on Malaysian Airlines MH-17 and concerns about ISIS militants in the north of Iraq being in possession […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. International cargo flights to Kurdistan were set to resume today (Tuesday) following an announcement by the central government this month in reaction to the KRGs move for independence. The resumption of flights will impact a number of Turkish, Qatari, and Emirati airlines that operate out of the KRGs two main airports […]
By John Lee. Zagrosjet launched two new routes from Erbil (EBL), one to Amsterdam (AMS) and one to Munich (MUC): Both flights are served by Zagrosjet’s 182-seat A320s. (Source: Zagrosjet)
By John Lee. Zagrosjet Airlines is launching flights between Erbil and Larnaka, Cyprus. The airline will connect Larnaka with the city of Erbil in Iraq. The Larnaka-Erbil route will be performed once a week and will be operated with Airbus 320 and 321 type aircraft. Wes Porter, the Chief Executive Officer of Hermes Airports, which […]
Tunisair announced two direct flights per week to Kurdistan at the first Tunisia – Kurdistan Economic Forum hosted by the KRG in Erbil. Tunisian government officials, representatives of more than 50 companies, as well as journalists were among the delegation aboard the first Tunisair flight to arrive in Kurdistan. At the well-attended forum, KRG Minister […]
The Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa has received the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia, Mr. Samir Jamae Abdullah. The meeting revolved around ways of strengthening bilateral ties particularly in the areas of trade and economy. On his first visit to Kurdistan, Ambassador Abdullah praised the region’s economic development […]
