In a meeting on Friday with Dubravka Suica, the EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, Sudani “emphasized the government’s determination of lifting the EU airspace ban on Iraqi Airways,” his office said in a statement.
One of the oldest airlines in the Middle East, Iraqi Airways, has been prohibited from operating in European Union airspace over safety violations since 2015.
Baghdad has been working to lift the ban and Sudani said that Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority had a meeting with the EU’s aviation safety team “to review the implementation of recommendations and assess the progress Iraq has made in meeting international safety standards,” his office added.
In August, Iraq’s transportation ministry said that “good steps” have been taken regarding lifting the ban.
Iraqi Airways has a poor reputation and has been stained by scandals in the past. In 2020, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority suspended a pilot after he allowed a female model to enter the cockpit mid-flight. In July 2018, two Iraqi pilots got into a physical fight over dinner while flying a Boeing 737 with 160 passengers on board. In August 2023, Iraqi Airways had to apologize after a bear escaped from a crate in the cargo hold, delaying a flight from Dubai to Baghdad.
Fly Baghdad is also banned from operating with European Union airspace.
