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Kurdistan
Traveller at Erbil International Airport (EIA) on August 1, 2020. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah / Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Passenger flights to and from the Kurdistan Region resumed on Saturday after the government lifted a months-long ban on commercial air travel that was imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The first flight from Baghdad to Erbil arrived at around 11 am, and another flew back to the Iraqi capital within the hour.
Around 120 flights will pass through Erbil and Sulaimani international airports during the first week of the resumption of commercial travel, said the Kurdistan Region’s transportation and communication minister.
“There will be more than 120 arrival and departure flights at both airports this week,” minister Ano Abdoka told Rudaw on Saturday, adding that several airliners have expressed their readiness to resume flights.
He says that those who leave the Kurdistan Region do not have to take the test unless the country they are visiting requires it, giving Turkey as an example, which he says does not require the test certificate.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) decided to ban all commercial flights in the country on March 17 due to the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The decision applied to the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani international airports.
Iraq reopened its airspace for commercial flights on July 23. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), however, delayed reopening Erbil and Sulaimani airports in order to put into place special procedures to handle the COVID-19 risk.
The KRG decided to reopen both of its airports on Saturday, announcing certain requirements for those flying in and out of the Region. Each passenger, who visits the Region, will be tested at the airports, if they do not bring a testing certificate conducted 48 hours before the arrival of the passenger at the airport.
Drivers bringing passengers to the airports must also be tested, at a cost of $40, while tests for people boarding flights cost $80, according to a government official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Both Erbil and Sulaimani international airports have announced their flight charts. A Turkish plane will arrive at Sulaimani airport from Istanbul late Saturday, according to their chart. However, a source from the airport told Rudaw English that there will be two other flights today: one between the province and Istanbul and the other with Qatar.
Erbil airport’s flight traffic is busier than Sulaimani’s. There will be flights between the airport and Baghdad, Kiev, Amman, Beirut, Dubai, Istanbul, Ankara, Damascus, Sharjah, Doha and Dusseldorf on Saturday.
The EIA reminded passengers in a statement on Saturday that they are required to wear face masks and latex gloves at the terminal and they are “advised to check with their airline to ensure they can comply with the regulations at their destination.”
“Arriving passengers are advised to either bring a PCR certificate, no older than 48 hours, those without, will be required to undertake a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test, at their own cost, at the airport. All arriving passengers will be required to sign a pledge form committing to 14 days self-isolation following their arrival in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”
People seeking to fly out of Sulaimani have to take the test at Martyr Tahir Ali Wali Bag hospital in Sarchinar, while those in Erbil have to take it at the Zanko health center on Erbil-Kirkuk road.
The director of the Zanko health center told Rudaw that they have the capacity to conduct 300 tests per day. Some passengers who visited the center for the test, have already said they are expecting to miss their flights due to the center not having issued their results on time.
Abdoka said that the KRG officials may officially announce the price of the test later today, adding it will be “less than in Iraq.”
The Kurdistan Region recorded 243 new cases of coronavirus as well as 109 recoveries and 13 deaths on Friday. This brings the total number of cases to 13,857. Of this, 9,083 people have recovered and 541 died.
The first flight from Baghdad to Erbil arrived at around 11 am, and another flew back to the Iraqi capital within the hour.
Around 120 flights will pass through Erbil and Sulaimani international airports during the first week of the resumption of commercial travel, said the Kurdistan Region’s transportation and communication minister.
“There will be more than 120 arrival and departure flights at both airports this week,” minister Ano Abdoka told Rudaw on Saturday, adding that several airliners have expressed their readiness to resume flights.
He says that those who leave the Kurdistan Region do not have to take the test unless the country they are visiting requires it, giving Turkey as an example, which he says does not require the test certificate.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) decided to ban all commercial flights in the country on March 17 due to the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The decision applied to the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani international airports.
Iraq reopened its airspace for commercial flights on July 23. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), however, delayed reopening Erbil and Sulaimani airports in order to put into place special procedures to handle the COVID-19 risk.
The KRG decided to reopen both of its airports on Saturday, announcing certain requirements for those flying in and out of the Region. Each passenger, who visits the Region, will be tested at the airports, if they do not bring a testing certificate conducted 48 hours before the arrival of the passenger at the airport.
Drivers bringing passengers to the airports must also be tested, at a cost of $40, while tests for people boarding flights cost $80, according to a government official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Both Erbil and Sulaimani international airports have announced their flight charts. A Turkish plane will arrive at Sulaimani airport from Istanbul late Saturday, according to their chart. However, a source from the airport told Rudaw English that there will be two other flights today: one between the province and Istanbul and the other with Qatar.
Erbil airport’s flight traffic is busier than Sulaimani’s. There will be flights between the airport and Baghdad, Kiev, Amman, Beirut, Dubai, Istanbul, Ankara, Damascus, Sharjah, Doha and Dusseldorf on Saturday.
The EIA reminded passengers in a statement on Saturday that they are required to wear face masks and latex gloves at the terminal and they are “advised to check with their airline to ensure they can comply with the regulations at their destination.”
“Arriving passengers are advised to either bring a PCR certificate, no older than 48 hours, those without, will be required to undertake a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test, at their own cost, at the airport. All arriving passengers will be required to sign a pledge form committing to 14 days self-isolation following their arrival in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”
People seeking to fly out of Sulaimani have to take the test at Martyr Tahir Ali Wali Bag hospital in Sarchinar, while those in Erbil have to take it at the Zanko health center on Erbil-Kirkuk road.
The director of the Zanko health center told Rudaw that they have the capacity to conduct 300 tests per day. Some passengers who visited the center for the test, have already said they are expecting to miss their flights due to the center not having issued their results on time.
Abdoka said that the KRG officials may officially announce the price of the test later today, adding it will be “less than in Iraq.”
The Kurdistan Region recorded 243 new cases of coronavirus as well as 109 recoveries and 13 deaths on Friday. This brings the total number of cases to 13,857. Of this, 9,083 people have recovered and 541 died.
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