Baghdad: Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority says it is suspending flights to the northern Kurdish self-ruled region for two days starting Monday due to Russia’s air campaign in neighboring Syria.
The statement, which was issued late Sunday, says the flight suspension to the cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniyah is to “protect travelers” as cruise missiles and bombers cross northern Iraq from the Caspian Sea to Syria. It said other airports will operate normally.
Russia began air strikes in Syria on Sept. 30 in support of President Bashar Al Assad’s forces, adding a new dimension to the complex war that has torn apart the country since 2011. Last month, its warships in the Caspian Sea fired cruise missiles nearly 1,500 kilometers over Iran and Iraq.
On Saturday, flights in and out of Lebanon were rerouted and some airlines cancelled services after Moscow requested they avoid an area over the eastern Mediterranean.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Zeaiter said Moscow asked “that planes leaving Beirut airport towards the west avoid overflying an area in Mediterranean territorial waters because of manoeuvres on Saturday, Sunday and Monday”.
Departing flights were directed south over Sidon and Sarafand to “keep them away from the perimeter of the manoeuvres”.
