Iraq Lifts Civilian Flight Restrictions Over Western Regions
The move transfers airspace previously reserved for military operations to Iraq’s aviation authorities and allows civilian flights to resume.
Iraq has lifted restrictions on civilian flights over western regions previously reserved for military operations against Islamic State. Officials say the decision will enable new civilian air routes and forms part of preparations for transferring airspace management to Iraqi authorities as the international coalition withdraws. Details on the specific routes and implementation timetable remain unclear.
Iraq’s Ministry of Transport has announced the removal of flight restrictions over western parts of the country, according to IRNA, which cited RT Arabic. The airspace had been reserved for military use and has now been handed to Iraq’s General Company for Airports and Air Navigation, making civilian flights permissible in the affected areas.
Ehab Saad Karim, the company’s director general, said the decision was formally announced by the airspace-management unit at the Air Operations Center. He said it was coordinated with the office of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and followed institutional and technical work intended to improve airspace efficiency and streamline air traffic.
The change will allow Iraq’s civil aviation authorities to redraw air routes and establish new corridors for civilian flights. Iraqi officials said it could reduce flight restrictions and improve airspace management. The restricted areas had been designated in 2016 and 2017 for military operations against Islamic State and included parts of Iraq’s western desert.
Hussein Ahmed, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, described the measure as part of preparations for the withdrawal of the international coalition from Iraq and the transfer of airspace responsibility to Iraqi authorities. He said the remaining technical and organizational steps needed for full implementation would be completed soon.
The announcement indicates a shift from military to civilian management of airspace in western Iraq. However, the available report does not specify which routes will reopen, when scheduled services will begin, or whether the change applies uniformly across all western regions.