Baghdad: The Ministry of Transport clarified on Friday that lifting airspace restrictions completes procedures for the withdrawal of the international coalition, noting that the coalition’s withdrawal opens Iraqi airspace to global aviation and confirming the establishment of new air corridors following the lifting of the restrictions.
According to Iraqi News Agency, Director of the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management at the Ministry of Transport, Captain Ehab Saad Karim, stated that the completion of lifting restricted and prohibited areas from Iraqi airspace comes as part of the procedures for the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraqi territory and the handover of the airspace.
He added that the withdrawal of the forces and the lifting of restrictions on airspace areas provide greater flexibility for international airlines and civil aviation operators to use Iraqi airspace for transit.
Karim noted that Iraq’s strategic location will enhance opportunities for international airlines to use its airspace, stressing the importance of marketing Iraqi air corridors.
He explained that the company is working to establish new air corridors, which will contribute to increasing transit traffic through Iraqi airspace, noting that establishing these corridors will contribute to Iraq’s prosperity through increased airspace transit and the collection of fees for the use of Iraqi airspace.
The Ministry of Transport announced on Friday the completion of the file on prohibited areas and the full restoration of sovereignty over Iraqi airspace.
It said that the Airspace Management Team at the Air Operations Center officially confirmed that the military airspace areas listed in the Iraqi Aeronautical Information Publication are no longer being used for military operations, noting that all areas that had been reserved in the western part of the country, from north to south, have been handed over to the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management for use in civil aviation.