Baghdad received its first commercial flight in over 17 years today as Swedish carrier Nordic Leisure transported 150 passengers from Denmark to the Baghdad International Airport. The majority of passengers were Iraqis. Commercial flights have not flown into Baghdad since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Iraqi Transport Minister Amer Abduljabbar Ismail told AFP news agency
that additional international arrivals, including one
from Hong Kong, are expected this week. Meanwhile, Iraqi Airways, the country's national carrier, plans to begin routes to
Europe in the next few months. The national carrier will receive help in arranging new flights as Air France-KLM has signed a preliminary
accord with Iraq which will provide renovations for the airport.