The first commercial flight between Europe and Iraq in 17 years has landed at Baghdad airport.
About 150 passengers, mainly Iraqis, arrived on the Nordic Leisure flight from Denmark.Commercial flights to Iraq were stopped after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, but the landmark flight by the Swedish charter company is likely to mark the start of other airlines resuming service to Iraq.
Iraqi Transport Minister Amer Abduljabbar Ismail told AFP news agency that other international arrivals are expected this week, including one from Hong Kong.
Iraqi Airways, the national carrier, says it hopes to start services to Europe in the next few months. Air France-KLM has signed a preliminary accord with Iraq this week, setting out plans for Iraqi Airways to fly to European destinations.
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