UAE stops flights to Baghdad after bullets hit landing flydubai airliner

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Several airlines halted flights to Baghdad, after a flydubai airliner landing in the Iraqi capital was hit by gunfire.

Aviation and security officials confirmed that up to four bullets had hit the fuselage of flight FZ215 just before the Boeing 737-800 aircraft touched down on a flight from Dubai, lightly wounding two passengers.

The Iraqi news agency reported earlier that a little girl on board the flight was among those hurt.

"After landing at Baghdad International Airport (BGW) on 26 Jan. 2015, damage to the aircraft fuselage consistent with small arms fire was discovered on flydubai flight FZ 215," a company spokesperson said.

The Al Awan newspaper quoted informed sources in Baghdad as saying that officials believed the shots were fired from an area close to the runway.

Flydubai, Emirates airline, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Sharjah’s Air Arabia halted flights to Baghdad, following a directive by the UAE’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Turkish Airlines, Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) and Royal Jordanian also reported that flights were suspended or delayed, but national carrier Iraqi Airways was operating normally on Tuesday.

Security officials said the shooting was under investigation, and that suspects in farmlands near the airport had been rounded up for questioning.

There was also suspicion that the incident could have been the result of celebratory gunfire in the Iraqi capital, where guns are widely available and celebrations often involve shooting into the air. The Iraqi government is also at war with insurgents fighting under the banner of the Islamic State (ISIS), which is in control of about a third of the country.

Iraqi authorities reportedly briefly closed the airport to flights on Monday, but operations resumed on Tuesday.

Emirates airline confirmed in a statement that “we are suspending our flights to and from Baghdad due to operational and safety concerns.”

The airline, which also flies to Basra and Erbil, said that operations to other cities in Iraq remained unaffected.

Etihad also confirmed it was halting flights. “Etihad Airways has suspended all flights to the Iraqi city with immediate effect and until further notice,” the carrier said in a travel alert.