Iraq to resume direct flights with Germany and Denmark

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s transportation ministry on Friday announced that direct flights between Baghdad International Airport and several airports in Germany and Denmark will resume on Nov. 10.

Among the destinations, Baghdad International Airport will begin operating seven weekly flights to the Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Munich airports.

The ministry also added that the resumption of direct flights to the two European countries would be undertaken jointly, following recent discussions with their Western counterparts.

The move is seen as part of an effort to lift the European Union’s ban on Iraqi Airways flights to European countries.

Earlier on Oct. 8, Thomas Seiler, EU Ambassador of the European Union to Iraq, discussed procedures with the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority on how to readmit Iraqi Airlines to fly to the European Union.

Read More: EU Ambassador discuss Iraqi airlines ban with Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority

Iraqi Airways has been plagued with controversy, as it has experienced several air safety incidents.

In August, reports circulated that a live bear had escaped out of a crate in the undercarriage of the airline’s aircraft heading from Baghdad to Dubai, with the bear later being sedated.

Previously in Oct. 2020, an Iraqi Airways pilot invited a female passenger into the cockpit while operating the aircraft. He was later suspended by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA).

In July 2019, the lead pilot of a a Tunisia-Baghdad flight had told the passengers that he needed to pay Tunis-Carthage Airport $3,000 for a fuel refill. Some passengers later alleged the pilot had asked them to “collect the [required] amount of money” to pay fuel dues at the airport. 

After departing from an Iranian airport in July 2018, two Iraqi Airways pilots had an argument mid-flight and physically fought at 37,000 feet, both of whom were later fired by the country's transportation ministry.