The fallout from Kurdistan's independence referendum continues, with more airlines stopping flights to the semi-autonomous Iraqi region. flydubai (FZ, Dubai International) has "temporarily suspended" flights to Erbil from September 30, joining EgyptAir (MS, Cairo International), MEA - Middle East Airlines (ME, Beirut) and Royal Jordanian (RJ, Amman Queen Alia), who have already announced a suspension of services to both Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.
The Turkish Consulate in Erbil has also advised that flights operated by Turkish carriers will be affected.
"The Iraqi General Directorate of Civil Aviation has announced that on Friday, September 29, 2017, flights from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports / airports (excluding Iraqi airlines flights) will be suspended from 8:00 am local time," the consulate advised via social media. "In this case, it will not be possible for Turkish Airlines, AtlasGlobal and Pegasus Airlines to make mutual flights to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah from our country from the mentioned date. Work has also been initiated to increase the capacity of flights to be carried out on these lines until the date and time indicated."
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over control of the region's airports to federal authorities or face a total ban on international flights. However, Kurdish Transport Minister Mowlud Murad has rejected the Prime Minister's demands, saying that they must keep control of the airports to ensure the security of the region, reports Reuters. Murad is hopeful that a resolution can be reached, as closing Kurdistan's airspace will not only hurt the economy, but will compromise Kurdistan's actions against ISIS. According to Russian news agency TASS, Murad is willing to negotiate.
"[T]he government of Iraqi Kurdistan has decided to discuss with the central authorities in Baghdad the issue of sending observers to international airports in the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah," Murad is reported as saying.
Baghdad advises that Kurdish airspace will be closed to international traffic from Friday, September 29, 18:00. Land borders currently remain open, but Turkey may consider closing its frontier.
