Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
January 5, 2007
Pg. 5
Life in Iraq - A weekly status report
By Cesar Soriano
BAGHDAD — At the chaotic Baghdad International Airport, hundreds of passengers are jammed up at the only security checkpoint. Western contractors carrying green duffel bags and Iraqi families with carts of luggage shout at unfazed security guards.
To Kifah Hussein Jabbar, director of Iraqi Airways, it's music to his ears. "We are making progress and achieving good results," says Jabbar, director of Iraq's national carrier. "In 2005, we were flying three or four flights a day and maximum 300 passengers a day. Today, we operate 10 to 12 flights per day and carry 1,500 passengers daily."
Iraq's airline industry — long grounded by sanctions, no-fly zones, lack of funds and violence — is experiencing a boom, particularly in the peaceful Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq. On Dec. 11, Austrian Airlines became the first European airline to fly to Iraq since the war began when it launched a twice-weekly service between Vienna and Irbil.
"Irbil is not the Iraq you see on the news. It's a completely different situation," says Lidia Dandrea, a spokesman for Austrian Airlines. The airline targets business travelers, Kurdish expatriates and tourists, she says.
"Many international airlines are interested in flying to Iraq, but the present security situation does not allow them to fly to Baghdad," Jabbar says. "Kurdistan is more calm, more peaceful."
The semiautonomous Kurdish government, which bills the region as "The Other Iraq" in promotional ads, is investing $300 million into an expansion of Irbil's international airport, a former Iraqi military air base. It will include a 16-gate terminal and a third 15,000-foot runway, long enough to land the space shuttle.
Charter airlines, including Atrosh Air and Air Kurdistan, offer occasional flights to Stockholm and Frankfurt, Germany. In the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, Zozik Air has operated a weekly flight to Munich, Germany, since mid-2006.
In Iraq's volatile capital, progress is slower. Baghdad International Airport is part of the largest U.S. base in Iraq. It takes passengers hours to navigate through the security layers to check in. Airplanes fly in a steep spiral on landings and takeoffs to avoid potential anti-aircraft missiles.
Iraqi Airways and Royal Jordanian are the only passenger airlines with regularly scheduled flights to Baghdad. They have been slowly increasing service. Iraqi Airways launched a twice-weekly service to Cairo in October. Jabbar says the company would like to lease four new planes and increase service to other destinations.
Jabbar admits that flights leaving Baghdad are often one-way trips. "We cannot deny that when we leave Baghdad, the airplanes are full or two-thirds full, but when we return back to Baghdad, the flights are often less than half-full," he says. "Everyone is running out of hell."
Iraqi Airways
Average daily passengers -- 2005: 300, 2006: 1,500
Daily flights -- 2005: 3-4, 2006: 10-12
Employees -- 2,500, including 85 pilots
Pilot salary -- Before the war: $2 per month, Now: $1,500 to $2,000 per month
Destinations -- Domestic: Basra, Sulaimaniyah, Irbil; International: Amman, Jordan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Cairo; Istanbul; Damascus, Syria
Source: Iraqi Airways
January 5, 2007
Pg. 5
Life in Iraq - A weekly status report
By Cesar Soriano
BAGHDAD — At the chaotic Baghdad International Airport, hundreds of passengers are jammed up at the only security checkpoint. Western contractors carrying green duffel bags and Iraqi families with carts of luggage shout at unfazed security guards.
To Kifah Hussein Jabbar, director of Iraqi Airways, it's music to his ears. "We are making progress and achieving good results," says Jabbar, director of Iraq's national carrier. "In 2005, we were flying three or four flights a day and maximum 300 passengers a day. Today, we operate 10 to 12 flights per day and carry 1,500 passengers daily."
Iraq's airline industry — long grounded by sanctions, no-fly zones, lack of funds and violence — is experiencing a boom, particularly in the peaceful Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq. On Dec. 11, Austrian Airlines became the first European airline to fly to Iraq since the war began when it launched a twice-weekly service between Vienna and Irbil.
"Irbil is not the Iraq you see on the news. It's a completely different situation," says Lidia Dandrea, a spokesman for Austrian Airlines. The airline targets business travelers, Kurdish expatriates and tourists, she says.
"Many international airlines are interested in flying to Iraq, but the present security situation does not allow them to fly to Baghdad," Jabbar says. "Kurdistan is more calm, more peaceful."
The semiautonomous Kurdish government, which bills the region as "The Other Iraq" in promotional ads, is investing $300 million into an expansion of Irbil's international airport, a former Iraqi military air base. It will include a 16-gate terminal and a third 15,000-foot runway, long enough to land the space shuttle.
Charter airlines, including Atrosh Air and Air Kurdistan, offer occasional flights to Stockholm and Frankfurt, Germany. In the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, Zozik Air has operated a weekly flight to Munich, Germany, since mid-2006.
In Iraq's volatile capital, progress is slower. Baghdad International Airport is part of the largest U.S. base in Iraq. It takes passengers hours to navigate through the security layers to check in. Airplanes fly in a steep spiral on landings and takeoffs to avoid potential anti-aircraft missiles.
Iraqi Airways and Royal Jordanian are the only passenger airlines with regularly scheduled flights to Baghdad. They have been slowly increasing service. Iraqi Airways launched a twice-weekly service to Cairo in October. Jabbar says the company would like to lease four new planes and increase service to other destinations.
Jabbar admits that flights leaving Baghdad are often one-way trips. "We cannot deny that when we leave Baghdad, the airplanes are full or two-thirds full, but when we return back to Baghdad, the flights are often less than half-full," he says. "Everyone is running out of hell."
Iraqi Airways
Average daily passengers -- 2005: 300, 2006: 1,500
Daily flights -- 2005: 3-4, 2006: 10-12
Employees -- 2,500, including 85 pilots
Pilot salary -- Before the war: $2 per month, Now: $1,500 to $2,000 per month
Destinations -- Domestic: Basra, Sulaimaniyah, Irbil; International: Amman, Jordan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Cairo; Istanbul; Damascus, Syria
Source: Iraqi Airways
