ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Flights at Erbil, Sulaimani, and Kirkuk airports are ongoing despite rising regional tensions and attacks on the Kurdistan Region, officials and sources confirmed to Rudaw late Tuesday.
"Erbil's airspace remains open to air travel,” Ahmed Hoshyar, director of Erbil International Airport, told Rudaw English’s Karwan Faidhi Dri.
His statement came one hour after multiple missiles and several one-way attack drones hit the Kurdish capital city, Erbill. A Kurdish dissident group confirmed that its base northwest of the province was struck by five Iranian missiles.
Based on Rudaw's tracking, Iran and its aligned groups in Iraq have fired at least 925 missiles and drones at the Region, resulting in 31 fatalities and 148 injuries.
Similarly, Hardi Samad, media director at Kirkuk International Airport, described the situation at their airspace as "normal" and said that "flights are proceeding according to their scheduled times."
He noted however that Turkish Airlines had suspended flights to their airport since February 28, when the US and Israel launched a massive air campaign against Iran, sparking a nearly six-week-long war.
"Aside from the Turkish carriers, we maintain daily round-trip flights to Turkish airports via Iraqi Airways,” Samad explained.
Meanwhile, a source at Jalal Talabani International Airport in Sulaimani also confirmed the continuation of flights, noting that the majority of daily flights are proceeding as scheduled, while a few airlines have canceled select routes.
Of note, Turkish carriers, including Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines, suspended flights to Erbil and Sulaimani airports on Friday, following a series of drone and missile attacks on the Region. Initially set to run through Monday, the suspension was extended to Wednesday.
Commenting on the possibility of resuming flights, a senior official at Erbil International Airport told Rudaw, 'We are in daily communication with the Turkish airlines, but they are currently uncertain whether operations will resume on July 23 or if the suspension will be extended further.”
Other carriers, including from Iraq and Gulf Arab states, are continuing their normal flight schedules.
