Fancy flying to Baghdad?
3rd April 2009
Flights between London and Baghdad – which haven’t run for nearly 20 years – could be approved “within the month” according to the Iraqi Transport Minister (reported in The Times).
In the past week flights have resumed between Iraq and Athens, Stockholm and Copenhagen, with Frankfurt and Mumbai rumoured to be considering aviation links.
A ban on flights into and out of Iraq was imposed in 1990 following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait; flights to and from Baghdad have remained virtually nonexistent.
As the situation in the war-torn nation has become slightly less unstable, its links with the outside world have continued to improve. Last month a tour group – including five Britons – retuned from a trip to the country, the first group of Western tourists to travel there since 2003.
Iraqi Airways, the national carrier, is the mostly likely airline to service the route, though the option will be open to any other international airline flying out of London.
Although travellers might not rush to book tickets – the Foreign Office still advises against all travel to Baghdad and much of the rest of the country – the increase of flights into Iraq is an encouraging sign for the troubled country’s future.
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