Iraqi Airways (IA, Baghdad) will auction off two derelict B747s parked at Tozeur airport in Tunisia since 1991. The sale is slated for August 16, 2023.
B747-200CM YI-AGP (msn 22366) and B747SP YI-ALM (msn 22858) have been valued at USD494,000 each. All prospective bidders must put down a 20% deposit (USD98,800) to qualify as bidders.
Though sold on a voetstoots basis, the aircraft have been mandated for scrapping after Iraqi Airways specifically required any prospective buyer not use the aircraft "for any political purpose, reproduction or glorification of any personality in any way", presumably to present any form of Saddam commemoration. Should this condition be violated, the carrier reserves the right to confiscate the aircraft.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney PW JT9D engines, the B747s were manufactured in 1982 and were in use until 1991. During the Gulf War, the Baathist regime ferried them to Tunisia for safekeeping to prevent damage during the bombing of Iraq. Following the war, the United Nations ordered the aircraft be grounded pending the outcome of talks over Iraqi compensation to Kuwait. Iraqi Airways eventually returned one of the engines to Kuwait as it was taken from a Kuwait Airways (KU, Kuwait) aircraft (the other seven remain installed on the B747s). In 2020, the Iraqi government settled a USD5.4 million debt owed in parking fees and other charges to the Tunisian authorities.
The ch-aviation fleets history module shows Iraqi Airways has two remaining B747-400s in its fleet, albeit both have been in storage since 2022. The airline is currently in the midst of a total fleet renewal programme, consolidating its long-haul fleet around the B787-8s and B787-9s.
