Flights to Iraq

To cater to the increasing demands of passengers to the Middle East destinations, Lufthansa has planned to launch different services to Iraq and is currently planning to serve the capital, Baghdad, and the city of Erbil in Northern Iraq from Frankfurt and Munich.A statement issued by Mr. Hakeem Jimo of LionSun Consulting on behalf of Lufthansa German Airlines said: “As Iraq is increasingly opening up to civil aviation, demand for flights to the country is growing. Lufthansa is therefore examining the possibility of launching several new services to Iraq and is currently planning to serve the capital, Baghdad, and the city of Erbil in Northern Iraq from Frankfurt and Munich.

The statement added that the airline operator would begin services to these new destinations before the year ends.Lufthansa aims to launch the new services in the summer of 2010, once it has obtained the necessary traffic rights. Further infrastructure requirements are also being examined.Lufthansa said with the resumption of flights to Iraq, it is pursuing its policy of expanding its route network in the Middle East, which it presently “serves with 88 flights per week to 14 destinations in 11 countries.

The statement however explained that Erbil is already served from Vienna by Austrian Airlines, which is part of the Lufthansa Group, but noted that from next summer, Baghdad and Erbil will be linked to Lufthansa’s hubs at Frankfurt and Munich and will thus be integrated into Lufthansa’s global route network.The exact flight times and fares will be announced at a later date as soon as booking for thenew routes opens, the statement said.It would be recalled that Lufthansa operated flights to Baghdad from1956 until the start of the Gulf War in 1990.