Iraqi Airways (IA, Baghdad) has begun operating a limited number of evacuation flights for passengers stranded abroad, using Arar airport in northern Saudi Arabia as the entry point. The airline is providing overland transit back to Iraq.

The carrier reactivated B737-800 YI-ASR (msn 40080) on March 15 for rescue flights from Cairo International and Delhi International (some via Riyadh), ADS-B data shows. The aircraft was stranded at Moscow Vnukovo on February 28, when Iraqi airspace closed due to the attacks on neighbouring Iran.

Of the carrier's 42 aircraft, only three are outside Iraq: the active B737-800, another unit of the same type parked at Dalaman, and one CRJ900 parked at Muscat. The rest are at Baghdad, Basrah, or Najaf and cannot leave until the airspace reopens.

Iraq remains one of four countries, alongside Iran, Bahrain, and Kuwait, whose airspace is closed to all civilian operations with no exceptions.