Iraqi Airways to link local city to KRG

GAZİANTEP - Anadolu Agency

Iraqi Airways has expanded its flight network in Turkey, kicking off a new route between the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep and the Kurdish Iraq city Arbil that will open on Sept. 15.

This marks Iraqi Airways’ second flight initiation announcement in 10 days, after it had said on Aug. 26 that it would begin flights between Turkish capital Ankara and Arbil.

Company officials had said efforts were under way to launch flights to new destinations between the two countries.

Flights twice a week

The flights, which are scheduled to take place twice a week, will help the regional economy flourish, Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce Chairman Eyüp Bartık said.

Airline transportation eases the access of business people and also facilitates the easier transportation of goods, Bartık added.

“Between January and July of this year, our region exported $2.5 billion of goods to Iraq,” he said, stressing that Gaziantep businesspeople wanted to achieve even more.

Arbil stands out as an important market for Turkish goods and this latest development will help to overcome several problems faced in trade with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Bartık noted.