Baghdad International Airport

Air services expansion to Iraq accelerating this summer

Another round of new routes to Iraq is occurring over the next few months, continuing the wave of expansion by international carriers as the country's economy develops and trade links grow. After almost two decades of limited activity, commercial aviation is playing an important role in the redevelopment of Iraq.

Between the early 1990s and 2000, Iraq was faced with heavy international sanctions, effectively preventing commercial travel. Royal Jordanian was the first international carrier to resume operations to the country, initially operating irregular cargo and charter services and then an on-again, off-again scheduled passenger service. It was only after the fall of the Hussein regime in 2003 that commercial airlines began to return to the country in any numbers.

What began as a trickle of airlines and a handful of routes become a torrent at the end of 2008. More than 20 airlines have added services to Iraq over the past three years. In the past six months alone, flydubai, Etihad Airways, Emirates, EgyptAir, Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines and (the now defunct) Viking Hellas have all added new services or extra capacity into the country. Qatar Airways and Jazeera Airways are set to enter the Iraqi market in the next few months.

Egypt unrest: Aviation in North Africa and Middle East threatened by political turmoil

The political instability engulfing some North African states has extensive implications for tourism and aviation across the region. Already dozens of governments are warning their citizens to avoid travel to Egypt. Several have chartered aircraft to ferry their nationals out. Cairo Airport has been met with chaotic scenes in the past few days as thousands of foreigners seek to leave. In this special report, CAPA reviews the immediate aviation and tourism impacts from the North Africa/Middle East civil unrest.

UAE seeing ‘unprecedented’ growth in aircraft traffic

The strong growth at UAE airports continues, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi leading the way. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) reports that air traffic movements in the country grew at an “unprecedented” rate of 12.8% year-on-year over Sep-2010, with 52,691 aircraft movements in the month. This follows on from an 8.7% year-on-year increase in aircraft movements Aug-2010. (Note: traffic figures have been skewed by the shifting of Ramadan into August, which was partially responsible for the slowdown in that month).