Iraqi Airspace Open To Civil Aviation

The airspace above Iraq is now open to civil aviation, for the first time since U.N. sanctions were imposed in 1990 — go on and get in line to use it. “The first response (from a European airline) came within a couple of hours,” a Coalition Provisional Authority official told Dow Jones Newswires. Airlines that for years have had to bypass the airspace, now can save money by flying more direct routes — but not without incurring a new cost. The coalition authority will collect about $750 from each airliner that transits the airspace. So far, no commercial flights are being invited to land within the country’s borders, though Gulf Air said it would start weekly flights into Basra starting in September.

The airspace above Iraq is now open to civil aviation, for the first time since U.N. sanctions were imposed in 1990 -- go on and get in line to use it. "The first response (from a European airline) came within a couple of hours," a Coalition Provisional Authority official told Dow Jones Newswires. Airlines that for years have had to bypass the airspace, now can save money by flying more direct routes -- but not without incurring a new cost. The coalition authority will collect about $750 from each airliner that transits the airspace. So far, no commercial flights are being invited to land within the country's borders, though Gulf Air said it would start weekly flights into Basra starting in September.