Middle East
Iraqi Airways plane at the Erbil International Airport. File photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Flights between Iraq and Lebanon are set to restart on Monday, an Iraqi official said on Sunday. They were halted earlier this month due to security concerns in the region.
“Iraqi Airways will resume flights to Lebanon tomorrow,” transportation ministry spokesperson Maytham al-Safi told Rudaw.
He added that a batch of Lebanese people, who sought refuge in Iraq in recent months due to the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, are returning to their country “free of charge and willingly.”
More than 5,000 Lebanese nationals have already returned to their country, Ali Abbas, spokesperson for Iraq's migration and displaced ministry told Rudaw on Saturday.
Abbas detailed that over 20,000 other Lebanese refugees are willing to return to their homes but are waiting for the resumption of flights.
Iraq and many other countries temporarily suspended flights to the Lebanese capital in recent months several times due to the conflict in Lebanon.
The state-owned Iraqi Airways also suspended flights to Lebanon on December 8 due to security concerns in neighboring Syria, following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
A coalition of rebel groups spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive against Assad’s army late last month, toppling the regime days later.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has intensified since October 7, when Palestinian Hamas militants launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive on Gaza, killing over 43,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Iraq has provided humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people, hosting thousands of people fleeing the country.
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