IRAQ/GREECE. In a boost for Iraqi travel retail, Greece’s biggest carrier Aegean Airlines will start running direct flights to Baghdad International Airport before the end of the year.
During a visit to Iraq last week, Greece Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis announced that Aegean has scheduled its first flight from Athens International into Baghdad for 16 December.
The Greek airline will become the only European airline running direct flights to the Iraqi capital.
Aegean Airlines and a small number of other carriers already run direct flights from Europe to Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north.
European airlines have largely steered clear of Baghdad because of security concerns in recent decades, which have now eased.
The Aegean Airlines move will come as welcome news to travel retailer Iraq Duty Free, currently expanding at Baghdad Airport, with the obvious implication that other European carriers may soon follow the Greek airline’s lead.
As reported, Baghdad International is set for growth after Iraq awarded a major investment contract to a consortium led by Argentina’s Corporación América Airports to rehabilitate, develop and operate the travel hub, marking a milestone in the country’s aviation and investment reform. ✈
