European Airline Plane Lands in Baghdad After 35 Years

An Aegean Airlines plane lands at Baghdad International Airport. (Source: Baghdad International Airport)

JAKARTA - The Iraqi Ministry of Transportation said on Tuesday, flights operated by Aegean Airlines from Greece were the first European aircraft in 35 years to land at Baghdad International Airport.

In a statement, the ministry said the arrival marked "Iraq's return to the European flight map" and ushered in "a new phase of recovery for the Iraqi aviation sector," Al Arabiya reported from AFP on December 16.

The ministry said the Baghdad-Athens-Baghdad route will operate two flights a week with the possibility of adding flights depending on demand.

Earlier this year, the Greek airline started flights to Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north, which is considered an oasis of relative stability in the volatile Iraq.

European airlines have not operated direct flights to Baghdad International Airport for security reasons since the early 1990s, when long-ruling Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait.

Saddam Hussein was ousted by a US-led international invasion in 2003, which was followed by civil war, sectarian violence and the emergence of armed extremist factions.

However, after decades of chaos, Iraq has recently begun to regain a sense of stability and the government is trying to attract foreign investment to strengthen the country's economy.