Sunday September 19, 2:35 AM
Iraqi Airways resumes international flights after 14 years

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A Iraqi Airways-rented Boeing 737 aircraft on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004 after it made the first Iraqi passenger landing in Damascus since 1980, when the 8-year-long Iraqi-Iranian war erupted. Ties between Damascus and Baghdad were severed because of Syria's backing for Iran during the war. (AP Photo/ Bassem Tellawi).

National carrier Iraqi Airways resumed international commercial flights for the first time in 14 years, flying between Amman, Baghdad and Damascus, although with few passengers on board.

The white and green striped Iraqi Airways plane from Amman touched down on the dull grey tarmac of Baghdad international airport at 11:00 am (0700 GMT) in the blue haze of a September morning.

But it was an inauspicious return to the skies for Iraqi Airways. On that first flight there were no passengers at all, because the resumption of operations was announced too late for tickets to be sold, said airline official Fathi Nassar.

The airline had been effectively grounded since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent UN sanctions imposed on the regime of toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

The company has one functioning Boeing 737 plane, a survivor of Iraq's years-long status as an international pariah.

From Baghdad, the plane left for Damascus at 2:00 pm, with its first passengers -- an official delegation -- in celebration of its comeback.

It arrived in Damascus at 2:40 pm and was due back in Baghdad before returning to Amman later Saturday. The carrier will make the same flight route daily, Iraqi Airways foreign offices director Ayad Hamam told AFP.

"All this we have done without any help from the Americans or the government," Hamam said.

Shortly after the fall of Saddam's regime, Iraqi Airways' thousand-strong staff demonstrated in the streets for fear the US-led occupation administration would shut down the firm.

Fifteen Iraqi Airways planes were left grounded around the Middle East, in Jordan, Tunisia and Iran, after Saddam made his disastrous decision in 1990 to invade Kuwait, Hamam said.

In 1998 and 1999, Iraq did fly several planeloads of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in defiance of the sanctions regime.

And in 2000, Iraqi Airways resumed limited internal flights, to Mosul and Basra, despite the "no-fly zones" imposed by the United States and Britain.

Then on August 23, the 737 made a test flight from Amman to Baghdad for the first time since the airline's planes were grounded by the UN sanctions.

It then flew an Iraqi Special Olympics team to a meeting in Algeria, Hamam said.

Currently, Royal Jordanian also flies between Amman and Baghdad international, where commercial aviation has been stymied by the constant threat of missile and rocket attacks by insurgents.

In November 2000, in the expectation of resuming flights, Iraqi Airways reopened its offices in Damascus. They had been closed for nearly two decades because of the break in diplomatic relations in 1980.

Private charter companies meanwhile maintained services between Damascus and Baghdad.

Hamam said that a one-way economy ticket from Baghdad to Amman costs 400 dollars, with 500 dollars for first class. A single economy flight from Baghdad to Damascus costs 300 dollars and 375 dollars for first class.

Excellent...way to go.

when i landed in amman last year i saw two iraqi airways 707s parked some way from the terminal. what will happen to them?

i understand iraqi airways has its aircraft all over the middle east (it moved them all out during the iran war and then opdsI).... will they get any back?

Iraqi Airways had Boeing planes, and Boeing is an American company.

And when you get sanctioned by the U.S, its obvious your planes won't fly.

So, now when the sanctions are gone, the parts are there, planes are refurbished, the planes would fly !! its simple.

It wasn't Saddam, it was the sanctions that kept the planes from taking off.

But I'm happy, that the sanctions are gone and Iraqi planes can fly again. :)

Iraqi Airways had Boeing planes, and Boeing is an American company.

And when you get sanctioned by the U.S, its obvious your planes won't fly.

So, now when the sanctions are gone, the parts are there, planes are refurbished, the planes would fly !! its simple.

It wasn't Saddam, it was the sanctions that kept the planes from taking off.

But I'm happy, that the sanctions are gone and Iraqi planes can fly again. :)

The US may have had an embargo against sending anything to Iraq and still has one with Iran, but there is a loophole regarding airplane parts. For instance, Boeing can send parts to Iran for Boeing planes that were bought before the Shah left power. That's a big reason that the Boeing 747SPs are still flying for Iranian Air. You can't exactly make the specialized parts for a plane's structure or engines in a machine shop. :)

Where is Iraqi Airways Destination.

A British carrier plans to launch flights to Baghdad as well. Check it out here : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=210698

Iraqi Airways to begin regular Amman-Arbil flights

AMMAN, June 10 (AFP) - Iraqi Airways will launch a three-times-a-week service between Amman and the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil on Saturday via Baghdad, a company official told AFP.

Iraqi Airways also started regular flights this week between Amman and Iraq's southern port of Basra, the spokesman said, adding the four weekly flights would go via Baghdad.

The company will be using Boeing 727s and Boeing 737 on both routes.

Earlier this month Iraqi Airways launched a regular service between Baghdad and Basra, and in February the airline made its first commercial flight from Arbil to Amman.

The carrier resumed international flights in September 2004 with a Baghdad-Amman service after being grounded for 14 years.

Iraqi Airways and the national Jordanian carrier, Royal Jordanian, are the only two companies to make regular passenger flights in and out of war-battered Iraq.

But they need clearance from the US-led coalition forces to land or take off from Baghdad international airport, which doubles as a military base.

Iraqi Airways makes first London flight for 15 years

LONDON, June 20 (AFP) - An Iraqi Airways plane with Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on board made a first flight to London since sanctions were imposed in 1990 for Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Iraqi officials said Monday.

Salah al-Shaikhly, the new Iraqi ambassador in London, said Jaafari arrived Sunday in London, where he lived as an exile during Saddam's rule, for a private visit during which he will meet members of the Iraqi community.

Government spokesman Laith Kubba said from Baghdad that Jaafari had flown from Kuwait, the airline's "longest flight since 1990 owing to the limited capabilities of Iraqi aircraft."

Jaafari flew on a Boeing 727, one of two planes owned by the Iraqi flag carrier, with the other being a slightly more recent Boeing 737.

Iraqi Airways operates daily flights from Baghdad to Amman, and flies three times a week to the Iraqi cities of Arbil and Basra, and to the Syrian capital Damascus. International flights resumed last September.

The UN sanctions were lifted after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam in April 2003.

Jaafari will leave London on Tuesday on the same plane to travel to Brussels for an international conference on rebuilding Iraq sponsored by the European Union and United States that will be held Wednesday, the ambassador said.

He will then travel to Washington before returning to London, where he will have talks with British officials, the ambassador added.

Iraqi Airways makes first EU flight in 19 years
28 March 2009
Agence France Presse

National airline Iraqi Airways made its first flight to the European Union in 19 years when an aircraft flew from Baghdad to Stockholm via Athens, the transport ministry said on Saturday.

"Transport Minister Amr Abduljabbar Ismail was on board the plane, which made a stop-off in the Greek capital" where he held talks with Greek leaders on developing bilateral relations in transport, the ministry said in a statement.

Friday's flight then continued to Stockholm, it added.

Iraqi Airways planes were grounded by an international embargo imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.

Following the US-led invasion in 2003, the company resumed air services to Arab countries, Iran and Turkey, among other destinations.

The transport ministry said Iraqi Airways plans to add scheduled flights to Bahrain, Germany, India and Qatar.

The ministry and Air France-KLM signed an outline agreement on December 30 for the operation of commercial flights to Europe and for the renovation of Baghdad airport.

Among the clauses, Air France-KLM undertook to help Iraqi Airways set up international flights, especially European services.

The agreement also foresees renovating Baghdad aiport's third terminal to international standards and constructing new airports in Iraq with funding from French businesses.

In January, Swedish charter company Nordic Leisure carried out the first passenger flight between Iraq and Europe since 1991, but the company lost its operating licence later the same month.

Sweden is among the European countries that have taken in the largest numbers of Iraqis fleeing violence.

EADS aims to sell Airbus planes to Iraqi Airways

BAGHDAD July 2 (Reuters) - European aerospace and defence group EADS aims to sell Airbus planes to Iraqi Airways and break the monopoly currently enjoyed by Boeing with that airline, Chief Executive Louis Gallois said on Thursday.

Gallois was in Baghdad on a visit with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

"They have an airline that has only Boeing planes. For me that is a provocation," Gallois joked. "That will be a provisional situation that will not last," he added.

Airline is shut down to avoid paying for Saddam's invasion
27 May 2010
The Times

Iraq is shutting its national airline to avoid paying $1.2 billion (£833 million) in reparations for damage caused during Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.

The Government in Baghdad announced the unusual move yesterday, claiming that its flag carrier was bankrupt only a month after Iraqi Airways made its first flight to London in two decades.

The Kuwaiti claim dates back to the invasion under Saddam in 1990. On the second day of the conflict, Iraqi troops seized Kuwait's international airport and took ten aircraft and more than three million spare parts. Even furniture from the terminal was carried back to Baghdad.

Kuwait has pursued its claim for reparations ever since, mainly through British courts. The case is the longest-running dispute in British legal history.

Ali al-Mosawi, an Iraqi government spokesman, said: "The decision was made by the council of ministers to dissolve Iraqi Airways because of debts the company cannot pay. They don't have the money." However, a senior official at Kuwait Airways, who did not wish to be named, said: "Do they think after 20 years we will just give up?" Iraq, which is faced with an insurgency fed by suicide bombers from foreign countries, could do with some neighbourly help. However, it is refusing to pay for Saddam's crimes.

On the Kuwaiti side, intransigence and a desire for vengeance appear to outweigh considerations of national interest. Good relations with Baghdad ought to be a priority for the small but wealthy Gulf state. The Iraqi Government has used a number of strategies to avoid paying the Kuwaitis. In 2008, after claiming that it could not afford to settle the claim, Iraq announced an order for 50 aircraft worth up to $6 billion (£4.2 billion) from Boeing and the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.

Baghdad claimed sovereign immunity for the aircraft, but the Bombardiers remain grounded in Canada.

Amer Abdul-Jabbar, the Iraqi Transport Minister, said: "We can establish another airline company and put an end to this case." Christopher Gooding, of the law firm Fasken Martineau, acting for Kuwait Airways, said: "It appears to me to be a sorry reflection of Iraq's attitude to its international commitments that liquidating its own national airline is seen as preferable."

He said the Government would become liable for the airline's debts.

Last month the chief executive of Iraqi Airways, Kifah Hassan, had his passport seized in London and the aircraft that he arrived on was impounded at Gatwick because of the row.

Iraqi Airways is to close after its first flight to the UK in two decades

5 Iraqi Airway’s Boeings in auction in Amman
6 October 2010

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: An auction will be held by the end of this month to sell five Boeings from the Iraqi Airways fleet, which have been grounded in the Alia airport, Amman - Jordan, since early 1990s.

The Iraqi Airways Company announced the auction on Wednesday, and said that three of the airplanes are Boeing 727-200, and the two others are 707s.

That's very interesting .It is really a very long time 14 years.