Dinar Iraq News
Iraqi Airways sells 200 tickets for the first flight to London in 23 years
Posted: February 16, 2013
Company announced Iraqi Airways, Saturday, intention flights to London
starting from next month, and with an eye to conduct three flights a
week from airports Baghdad and Sulaimaniyah after a break of more than
23 years, confirmed sell 200 tickets so far for these trips.
The general director of Iraqi Airways Saad al-Khafaji, said in an
interview to the agency (UPS or British) and seen by (long-Presse), that
“flights between Iraq and the United Kingdom will start from the fifth
month of March next three times a week after a hiatus more than 23
years, “noting that” these flights will be from Gatwick Airport in
London to Baghdad and to the city of Sulaimaniya in the Kurdistan
region. “
Khafaji said that “Iraqi Airways will use Airbus (ie 330) purchased
by the newly conduct flights directly from London to Baghdad and a trip
to Sulaymaniyah in every week,” stressing that “the company aims to
increase its flights to six flights per week in the middle of the month
next June. “
He Khafaji said “about 200 tickets have been sold within the new
flights, which were distributed among Iraqi expatriates and
businessmen.”
Sources close to the Iraqi Airways said, “The agency (ie KPMG to
travel) in London specialized trips Iraqi are running sales these
tickets in the United Kingdom, as much as price primer for the trip
which takes five hours and a half 470 £ for economy class and 1400
pounds For business class “, and showed that all flights will land for
an hour at the airport in Malmo in Sweden and in order to facilitate the
conduct security checks before entering the trip to the UK,” noting
that “Sweden has a lot of Iraqi nationals in the Diaspora.”
The Iraqi Airways announced, in January 29, 2013, contract to buy 50
aircraft type Boeing 737 and Boeing Dreamliner 787 in addition to the
two Aabertin intercontinental making company Airbus, while The Ministry
of Transport that Iraqi Airways will run trips lines additional to many
countries of the world .
The Ministry of Transport launched 16.11.2012 assertions that Iraqi Airways began recovering from debt forgiveness Kuwaiti them.
The Kuwaiti National Assembly approved, in the 22 of January 2013 the
vast majority of the Convention on the liquidation of debts of Iraqi
Airways, stressing that the Council referred the decree law of the
Convention to the Government for approval.
The Iraqi Airways has suspended flights to a large number of European
countries after Kuwait filed a lawsuit for damages suffered by the
aircraft as a result of the Iraqi invasion in 1990, and demanded payment
of one billion and 200 million dollars for Kuwait Airways.
And witnessed Iraqi-Kuwaiti
relations in recent progress in relation to solving some outstanding
problems, as the parties agreed during the visit of Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki last of Kuwait on the fourteenth of the month of March 2012,
to end the issue of compensation for airline Kuwaiti and maintenance of
border markers, as agreed the common foundations and frameworks to
resolve all the files within short time scales, with the exception of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who accompanied Maliki on the trip to what has been agreed upon is significant progress with regard to the exit of Iraq from Chapter VII.
As a result, Kuwait announced on the third of April 2012, its
intention to re-opening of the line to fly with Baghdad in the coming
days for the first time in more than 21 years, promised that action is
the culmination of efforts between the two countries in order to
strengthen relations.
Kuwait has sent a formal letter to Iraq at the beginning of November
2012 prove the settlement of the issue of compensation due to the Iraqi
Airways to pay the last $ 500 million in favor of Kuwait Airways.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in (October 2012) that the
Emir of Kuwait and formally agreed to settle the issue of compensation
Kuwait Airways incurred owed by Iraq, including bringing all
restrictions and complications for efforts to rebuild the Iraqi Airways
and freedom to buy new planes and create a fleet.
Following the decision of the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers approved
the Iraqi in the 20/11/2012 allocation of $ 500 million in the budget
year 2013, to settle the issue with Kuwait Airways, while announced
authorize an adviser to Prime Minister for Legal Affairs negotiation and
agreement.
Iraq has signed in May 2008 the first two decades with the company
(Boeing) U.S. to buy 40 aircraft, and the company with the second
(Bompardo) Canadian, to buy ten aircraft, the Ministry of Finance showed
that the total value of the two contracts amounted to five billion
dollars.
The deal raised Canadian aircraft wave of objections by the member of
parliament, in which they accused the Council of Ministers to intervene
to buy aircraft is suitable for Iraqi airspace, and the longer the
charges in this deal advisers to Iraqi Prime Minister accused of using
their influence to make a profit from this deal.
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