Economy

Iraq, Saudi Arabia resume direct flights

The resumption of direct flights between the two Middle Eastern countries comes after a 19-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kurdistan 24 2021/10/22 20:34

An Iraqi airways aircraft. (Photo: Archive)

Middle East Iraq Saudi Arabia COVID-19

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Transport has announced the resumption of direct flights to and from Saudi Arabia after a 19-month suspension.

Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from Iraq, along with eight other countries, in March 2020 due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Iraqi ministry said that "the national carrier has resumed its direct flights from Iraqi airports to airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Saudi Arabia began easing its COVID-19 measures as of October 17 due to a sharp decrease in daily infections. On Friday, Saudi health officials reported just 51 new infections over the past 24 hours.

In contrast, COVID-19 cases in Iraq, though down from all-time highs of the summer months, still float around the low thousands. On Friday, the Iraqi health ministry reported over 1,800 new infections, most of them recorded in the Kurdistan Region.