Aegean Airlines (A3, Athens) became the first airline from the European Union to operate a scheduled flight to Baghdad in more than three decades. The Greek carrier launched its 2x weekly service from Athens, using A320-200 aircraft, on December 16.

Flights from the EU (then known as the European Communities) to Iraq stopped in 1990 during the first Gulf War and have remained on hiatus ever since. While Iraqi Airways is currently banned from the EU on safety grounds, there are no formal obstacles to EU airlines flying to Iraq.