Company announced Iraqi Airways, Saturday, intention flights to London starting from next month, and with an eye to conduct three flights a week from airports Baghdad and Sulaimaniyah after a break of more than 23 years, confirmed sell 200 tickets so far for these trips.

The general director of Iraqi Airways Saad al-Khafaji, said in an interview to the agency (UPS or British) and seen by (long-Presse), that “flights between Iraq and the United Kingdom will start from the fifth month of March next three times a week after a hiatus more than 23 years, “noting that” these flights will be from Gatwick Airport in London to Baghdad and to the city of Sulaimaniya in the Kurdistan region. “

Khafaji said that “Iraqi Airways will use Airbus (ie 330) purchased by the newly conduct flights directly from London to Baghdad and a trip to Sulaymaniyah in every week,” stressing that “the company aims to increase its flights to six flights per week in the middle of the month next June. “

He Khafaji said “about 200 tickets have been sold within the new flights, which were distributed among Iraqi expatriates and businessmen.”

Sources close to the Iraqi Airways said, “The agency (ie KPMG to travel) in London specialized trips Iraqi are running sales these tickets in the United Kingdom, as much as price primer for the trip which takes five hours and a half 470 £ for economy class and 1400 pounds For business class “, and showed that all flights will land for an hour at the airport in Malmo in Sweden and in order to facilitate the conduct security checks before entering the trip to the UK,” noting that “Sweden has a lot of Iraqi nationals in the Diaspora.”

The Iraqi Airways announced, in January 29, 2013, contract to buy 50 aircraft type Boeing 737 and Boeing Dreamliner 787 in addition to the two Aabertin intercontinental making company Airbus, while The Ministry of Transport that Iraqi Airways will run trips lines additional to many countries of the world .

The Ministry of Transport launched 16.11.2012 assertions that Iraqi Airways began recovering from debt forgiveness Kuwaiti them.

The Kuwaiti National Assembly approved, in the 22 of January 2013 the vast majority of the Convention on the liquidation of debts of Iraqi Airways, stressing that the Council referred the decree law of the Convention to the Government for approval.

The Iraqi Airways has suspended flights to a large number of European countries after Kuwait filed a lawsuit for damages suffered by the aircraft as a result of the Iraqi invasion in 1990, and demanded payment of one billion and 200 million dollars for Kuwait Airways.

And witnessed Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations in recent progress in relation to solving some outstanding problems, as the parties agreed during the visit of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last of Kuwait on the fourteenth of the month of March 2012, to end the issue of compensation for airline Kuwaiti and maintenance of border markers, as agreed the common foundations and frameworks to resolve all the files within short time scales, with the exception of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who accompanied Maliki on the trip to what has been agreed upon is significant progress with regard to the exit of Iraq from Chapter VII.

As a result, Kuwait announced on the third of April 2012, its intention to re-opening of the line to fly with Baghdad in the coming days for the first time in more than 21 years, promised that action is the culmination of efforts between the two countries in order to strengthen relations.

Kuwait has sent a formal letter to Iraq at the beginning of November 2012 prove the settlement of the issue of compensation due to the Iraqi Airways to pay the last $ 500 million in favor of Kuwait Airways.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in (October 2012) that the Emir of Kuwait and formally agreed to settle the issue of compensation Kuwait Airways incurred owed by Iraq, including bringing all restrictions and complications for efforts to rebuild the Iraqi Airways and freedom to buy new planes and create a fleet.

Following the decision of the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers approved the Iraqi in the 20/11/2012 allocation of $ 500 million in the budget year 2013, to settle the issue with Kuwait Airways, while announced authorize an adviser to Prime Minister for Legal Affairs negotiation and agreement.

Iraq has signed in May 2008 the first two decades with the company (Boeing) U.S. to buy 40 aircraft, and the company with the second (Bompardo) Canadian, to buy ten aircraft, the Ministry of Finance showed that the total value of the two contracts amounted to five billion dollars.

The deal raised Canadian aircraft wave of objections by the member of parliament, in which they accused the Council of Ministers to intervene to buy aircraft is suitable for Iraqi airspace, and the longer the charges in this deal advisers to Iraqi Prime Minister accused of using their influence to make a profit from this deal.

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