Dubai: Etihad Airways said Sunday it plans to launch regular flights to Baghdad next week, making the Gulf airline the latest carrier to begin flying passengers to the Iraqi capital.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier plans to start service from its base in Abu Dhabi beginning April 26, provided it can secure government and regulatory approval.
Initial plans call for five return flights a week to Baghdad using Airbus A320s. Additional flights to the northern city of Irbil are slated to start in June.
Airlines are slowly returning to war-ravaged Iraq as security improves and business begins to pick up after years of bloodshed.
Pilots no longer have to execute dramatic corkscrew landings to avoid ground fire, and the once dangerous road from Baghdad International Airport is now largely secure.
Etihad will be the first Emirati airline to provide regular passenger service between Iraq and the Emirates with its Abu Dhabi flights.
Iraqi Airways and a number of charter companies already fly to Dubai.
Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan said the airline expects strong demand, particularly from government and business travelers.
The state-owned carrier began operating cargo flights to Baghdad in September.
Etihad expects to expand passenger service to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, where it also delivers cargo, on June 1.
That city, which serves as the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region, has enjoyed an investment bonanza thanks to the region's relative security, oil wealth and relative independence from the rest of Iraq.
Etihad is the latest carrier to tap the Iraqi market.
