Iraq Resuming Four Weekly Iran Flights

EghtesadOnline: Iraqi Airways will resume flights on Tehran-Najaf-Tehran and Mashhad-Najaf-Mashhad this week, as restrictions on issuing flight permits to Iranian airlines have been lifted, the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organization said.

News ID: ۷۸۶۰۳۷

17 February 2021

“As we speak, two fights from Tehran and two flights from Mashhad are being operated to Najaf and Baghdad every week,” Mohammad-Hassan Zibakhsh was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Iraqi authorities banned flights with several countries, including Iran, as of Jan. 14 due to concerns over the spread of a newly-discovered coronavirus disease strain.

“Iran's aviation industry, a sector harshly hit by the spread of the new coronavirus, needs at least three years to make a comeback,” says Siavash Amirmokri, the managing director of Iran Airports Company,

Air travel and tourism have been the hardest-hit industries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association also estimates that it will be at least 2024 before global air traffic reaches pre-pandemic levels.

The travel industry saw a precipitous drop in business after the coronavirus developed into a pandemic.

Over the past year, major airlines, airports and tour firms have collectively announced thousands of job losses.

"Absent additional government relief measures and a reopening of borders, hundreds of thousands of airline jobs will disappear," IATA chief executive, Alexandre de Juniac, was quoted as saying by BBC.