Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Iraq's Sulaymaniyah

People arrive at Sulaymaniyah International Airport as flights from Turkey to Sulaymaniyah are to begin soon after the lift of 15-month flight ban on January 24, 2019 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq [Feriq Fereç / Anadolu Agency]

Turkey’s national flag carrier Turkish Airlines resumed its flights to the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah after the lifting of the ban that was imposed in September 2017.

Ali Khalil Ibrahim, an Iraqi civil aviation authority chief, said in a statement on Saturday that Turkish Airlines operated its first flight to the Sulaymaniyah International Airport from Istanbul.

Ibrahim stated that Iraqi Airways will hold flights from Sulaymaniyah to Istanbul in upcoming days.

On September 29, 2017, Iraq’s central government had imposed a ban on all international flights to and from the Kurdish region.

The ban against Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports had come in response to the September 25, 2017 illegitimate referendum on Kurdish regional independence.

On Wednesday, Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan said that the ban on flights to Sulaymaniyah would be lifted on Friday.

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