ERBIL: All foreign flights to and from the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Erbil will be suspended from Friday evening on Baghdad's orders, its airport director said, following a controversial independence referendum.
"All international flights without exception to and from Arbil will stop from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Friday following a decision by the Iraqi cabinet and Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi," Talar Faiq Salih told AFP on Thursday.
Abadi ordered the halt to flights serving airports in Iraqi Kurdistan in retaliation for the independence referendum held Monday in defiance of Baghdad which delivered a resounding 92.73 "yes" vote.
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Regional carriers, including Turkish Airlines, EgyptAir and Lebanon's Middle East Airlines had already announced that they would be suspending their flights serving Iraqi Kurdistan at Baghdad's request.
The Erbil airport director said she deeply regretted the decision, which she said would hamper the campaign against the Daesh militant group in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, as well as the delivery of aid to those displaced by it.
"We have consulates, international staff, international companies, so it's going to affect everyone. It's not a right decision," Salih said.
"We have a big international community here, so this is not only against Kurdish people.
"We also have a big number of refugees using this airport and we used to be a bridge between Syria and the UN to send humanitarian aid to those places.
"And we are hosting (US-led) coalition forces here, so this airport is meant to be for everything."
The Latest: Air Arabia to halt flights to northern Iraq
Iraq's Transport Ministry ordered international airlines to halt service to Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital, and Sulaimaniyah, its second city, beginning Friday evening. That's due to tensions over an independence referendum held this week in Iraq's Kurdish region and disputed territories.
Air Arabia
Another discount airline in the United Arab Emirates says it is suspending its flights to Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, after Baghdad order a halt to service in response to the Kurds' independence referendum.
Sharjah-based Air Arabia says it will "temporarily suspend its flights" from Saturday in line with an order it received from the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority. Iraq's Transport Ministry ordered international airlines to halt service to Arbil and the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah beginning Friday evening.
Baghdad has threatened a comprehensive flight ban if the Kurds do not hand over control of their airports to federal authorities by then.
FlyDubai, Qatar Airways
Low-cost carrier FlyDubai has said it is halting flights from Saturday, as is Qatar Airways.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Iraq's Kurdish region has "thrown itself into the fire" by holding a referendum on independence from Iraq.
Speaking at a police academy graduation ceremony in Ankara on Thursday, Erdogan called on Masoud Barzani, the leader of Iraq's Kurdish administration, to be content with the region's current semi-autonomous status, enjoy its oil revenues, and not drag it into an "adventure that is bound to end in chagrin."
"Sit still! You are at the helm in northern Iraq, you have money, wealth and everything, you have oil," Erdogan said.
Turkey had forged close ties to Iraq's Kurdish region, but is strongly opposed to its moves toward independence.
It has threatened military action and economic sanctions against the landlocked region.
A senior Turkish official said Thursday that Turkey would not refrain from taking action if Turkey's security is threatened, adding however that "it is not our first choice."
The official Turkey would deal with the central government in Baghdad on issues related to border crossings, air space and economic relations, no longer recognizing the Kurdish region's authority
Oil exports
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi says Turkey has agreed to deal only with Baghdad on oil exports from the self-ruled Kurdish region, which seeks secession from Iraq. In a statement issued late on Wednesday following a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Al-Abadi says Binali Yildirim stressed his government's support on all measures taken in response to the Kurdish independence referendum.
In defiance of Baghdad, the self-ruled Kurdish region has been unilaterally exporting crude oil produced in their region and contested areas through Turkey. The statement adds that both countries will continue cooperating to help implement the measures.
The Kurds angered Baghdad and Iraq's neighbors by holding an independence referendum this week. Though it's non-binding, it has inceased tensions between the Kurds and Baghdad as well as Turkey and Iran, both of which have a sizable Kurdish population.
