Iraqi flight delayed in Tunisia over reported unpaid fuel bill

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Tunisian authorities on Sunday stopped an Iraqi airplane from taking off at Carthage Airport to Baghdad International Airport, creating what passengers of the flight described as a state of “chaos” among them as they lounged at the facility.

Videos posted on social media showed dozens of passengers waiting in airport lounges. A man in one of the recordings claimed the flight had initially been delayed for hours but did not specify. He also said the lead pilot of the plane had told the passengers that he needed to pay the facility $3,000 for a fuel refill.

While some passengers said loungers were panicked, others claimed the pilot had asked them to “collect the [required] amount of money” to pay fuel dues at the airport. However, the owner of the carrier, Iraqi Airways, denied the claim.

Iraqi media outlets reported that the Tunisian authorities “detained” the plane, but the Tunisian embassy in Baghdad rejected the claim. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Tunisian embassy also said the delay was due to the pilot’s failure to provide “payments for fuel delivery.”

“The Tunisian authorities coordinated with the Iraqi embassy, ​​which handled paying the amount [of money] and secured the plane’s takeoff,” the statement added.

Later, Iraqi Airways said that “the plane is leased to a private company because Iraqi Airways has no direct line to Tunisia, and this company, as per on the lease, is responsible for the entire trip and resolving its problems.”

"In fact, some logistical and technical problems occurred at the airport in Carthage, which led to a delay in taking off,” the carrier company added in a statement. “When we learned of the matter, the leasing company of the aircraft was able to resolve the problems and took off with passengers onboard to Baghdad safely.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany