Baghdad gets first flight from Western Europe in 17 years

Titlu : Baghdad gets first flight from Western Europe in 17 years
Sursa : http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2009/01/baghdad-flights.html
Data : 12.01.2010
Autor : necunoscut

O stire mai veche, dar care mi se pare foarte interesanta.

"In case you missed this story from earlier this week, the BBC writes "the first commercial flight between Western Europe and Baghdad in at least 17 years has landed in Iraq." That flight -– operated by Sweden's Nordic Leisure -– arrived in Baghdad last Friday carrying about 150 passengers. Most of the passengers were Iraqis, according to the BBC. The news agency adds "air services to Iraq are gradually increasing after UN sanctions were imposed following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait."

Still, the BBC notes some carriers -- such as Turkish Airlines –- had already begun flying to Baghdad as early as October. Despite that, flights to Baghdad have remained largely off-limits to most Western European carriers. But, the BBC notes "while few direct flights between Europe and Baghdad are available, a number of airlines have been running services for some time to the northern Iraqi cities of Sulaimaniya and Irbil." One such carrier is Austrian Airlines, which began Vienna-Irbil service in February.

Todaybaghdada And the ramp-up of commercial service raises another issue for Iraq. The Tacoma News-Tribune writes that "Iraq officially began to govern its skies last week, but it has enough trained air traffic controllers to manage only the highest heights above the country. That leaves the U.S. still in control of everything below 24,000 feet, meaning that American air traffic controllers handle everything from the runway to 23,999 feet. U.S. and Iraqi officials say that they're hopeful that Iraq will say goodbye to all its American air traffic advisers by 2011 -- the year designated in the security agreement for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq -- as Iraq's airline industry grows for the first time in decades."

Photo 1: A Nordic Leisure aircraft is parked after landing at Baghdad airport on Jan 2. It was the first commercial flight to Baghdad from Western Europe and Europe in the past 17 years. The company will operate one flight a week between Copenhagen and Baghdad, according to a company's spokesman. By Hadi Mizban, AP.

Photo 2: A Nordic Leisure pilot waives the Swedish flag out the cockpit window after arriving in Baghdad. By Hadi Mizban, AP. "

Si continuarea ..
Titlu:Lufthansa is planning flights to Iraq
Sursa:http://presse.lufthansa.com/en/news-releases/view/archive/2010/january/article/1568.html?tx_ttnews[day]=12&cHash=7a6bca8d16
Data: 12.01.2010
Autor: Deutsche Lufthansa AG Corporate Communications



"Baghdad and Erbil new Middle East destinations

As Iraq is increasingly opening up to civil aviation, demand for flights to the country is growing. Lufthansa is therefore examining the possibility of launching several new services to Iraq and is currently planning to serve the capital, Baghdad, and the city of Erbil in Northern Iraq from Frankfurt and Munich.

Lufthansa aims to launch the new services in the summer of 2010, once it has obtained the necessary traffic rights. Further infrastructure requirements are also being examined. With the resumption of flights to Iraq, Lufthansa is pursuing its policy of expanding its route network in the Middle East, which it presently serves with 88 flights per week to 14 destinations in eleven countries.

Lufthansa operated flights to Baghdad from 1956 until the start of the Gulf War in 1990. Erbil is already served from Vienna by Austrian Airlines, which is part of the Lufthansa Group. From next summer, Baghdad and Erbil will be linked to Lufthansa’s hubs at Frankfurt and Munich and will thus be integrated into Lufthansa’s global route network.

The exact flight times and fares will be announced at a later date as soon as booking for the new routes opens. "