Iraq’s Ministry of Transport announced that it has completed the review of restricted airspace areas and fully restored sovereignty over the country’s airspace.
Captain Ihab Saad Karim, director of the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management, said at a press conference that the Airspace Management Team at the Air Operations Center had officially confirmed that “the military airspace areas listed in the Iraqi Aeronautical Information Publication are no longer being used for military operations.”
He noted that “all areas previously 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.”
Karim said that “this highly significant progress was achieved through full coordination with the Director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief of Staff General Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, and as a result of institutional and technical efforts that continued for several years to improve the efficiency and smoothness of air navigation.”
He explained that “these measures pave the way for completing the deletion of these areas and updating the Iraqi Aeronautical Information Publication so that it can be officially published for global airlines.”
According to Karim, “the restriction of these areas to civil aviation began between 2016 and 2017, and their restoration will provide greater flexibility in establishing new air routes, thereby increasing financial revenues, improving the flow of civil air traffic, and supporting the national economy.”
Karim also praised “the role of airport and air navigation personnel and air traffic controllers in managing air traffic and ensuring the safety of aircraft and passengers,” stressing that “the airports are ready to provide services to all local and foreign airlines once the air routes are opened.”
By Vafa Guliyeva
