ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s transportation ministry on Sunday announced that the country’s national airline is set to receive 31 “modern” planes and continue talks to lift the European ban on the airline. “The Ministry of Transportation signed a contract with Boeing and Airbus companies regarding the purchase of modern aircrafts … and 31 modern aircraft will enter service and be received sequentially until the end of 2027,” Maitham al-Safi, director of media and government communication, told state media. Safi added that the Iraqi Airways received four Boeing Max, five Airbus 220, and one Dreamliner aircrafts after the contracts were signed. 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. Iraq has been seeking to lift the ban since. According to Safi, a committee headed by Transportation Minister Razaq al-Saadawi is holding meetings in order to lift the imposed European ban on the airlines. A delegation from the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) met with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in March in Dubai to discuss the procedures for lifting the European ban on Iraqi Airways. Iraqi Airways has a poor reputation for poor flight standards and has been stained by public scandals. In 2020, ICAA suspended a pilot from flying after he was found to have allowed a female model into 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.
