Iraqi Airways was founded in 1945. The
first planes used were Dragon Rapids. For the next fiscal decade, until
1955, these planes were alternated with Vickers Viscounts. By 1955,
however, the Viscounts took over all of Iraqi Airways' services.
The 1960s arrived, and so did the jet age. Iraqi Airways was quick to
modernize, buying Russian built Tupolev TU-124 planes as well as British
built Tridents. These jets allowed Iraqi Airways to increase service
across the Middle East, to Africa and Europe. During that time, cargo
airplanes such as the Il-76 arrived.
During the 1970s, Iraqi Airways was granted a route to JFK International
airport in New York, and because of that, it needed a bigger jet, so it
went to (then) Seattle based Boeing and bought 707 jets. Soon after, the
Boeing 747 also arrived.
Iraqi Airways kept flying during the 1980s to most cities where it had
established routes to. The Iraq-Iran war did little to undermine the
airline's activities. In what could be considered by some to be an
ironic twist to the trend, in 1986, a Boeing 737 of Iraqi Airways, flying
from Baghdad to Jordan, was attacked by terrorists. Although the plane
tried to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, the terrorists threw
a bomb into the plane's cockpit, and its destruction caused the plane to
crash resulting in the deaths of 61 of the 93 people on board . Iraqi
Airways has, to date, had ten air tragedies.
Since Iraq's invasion in 1991 of Kuwait, Iraqi Airways has been grounded
by the United Nations’ sanctions against Iraq. Before the invasion
started, Iraqi Airways had 17 jets, all of which were moved to secret
locations, mainly in Jordan.
Through that ordeal, many of the airline’s 800 employees stayed
faithful, and their mechanics supposedly even owned Iraq's only jet
engine, where they would practice in hopes the airline would someday
need their services as much as it once did.
Because Iraqi Airways was allowed to fly domestically, it continued
service to smaller cities, such as Basra. However, domestic flights
became a rarity too, because of the No-Fly Zone imposed by the United
States and United Kingdom over Iraqi skies. On occasions, Iraqi Airways
would also fly pilgrims to Saudi Arabian religious cities during the
'90s.
Current Events
Iraqi Airways, it is rumored, only has three planes that are still
considered usable: A Boeing 747, a Boeing 727 and an Il-76. Presumably,
the 727 and Il-76 are the planes used on their domestic routes. But
other rumors point to a possible future deal between Iraqi Airways and
the Airbus company, where the Iraqi company would acquire some Airbus
family jets, probably for use on their domestic flights.
On May 30, 2003, Iraqi Airways' management announced it plans to resume
international service soon.
Iraqi Airways currently has contracts with Schabak and with Nostalgia
to produce their airplane models. The airline's livery consists of an
all white airplane's belly, but with a green cheat line and an aqua green
scheme covering the top of their planes. The aqua color goes all the way
to the end of the planes' tails. The tail logo consists of a green bird
inside a white circle, with the name Iraqi Airways inscribed just below
the circle, in white color and in Arabic. The same title is also
inscribed over the passenger windows on the front part of the fuselage,
using the same color but written in English.
The country’s three major
international airports at Baghdad, Basra and Mosul are all under
military control with no Iraqi personnel. DHL cargo deliveries take
place in Baghdad and Mosul. There is some debate, however, as to whether
Mosul qualifies as an international airport.
Recently due to the instability of security situation in Mosul, UNHAS
has re-directed its flights to Erbil NW.
The CPA has recently issued an immigration form to record passenger
movements in and out of both Baghdad and Basra Airports.
BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
At present Royal Air Force (RAF) is the authority running all airport
activities at the Baghdad International. The airport is open for both
commercial and humanitarian traffic.
BASRAH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
RAF is managing all airport activities at the moment, and is responsible
for security at the airport. In addition to RAMCC slot request, prior
number (PPR) request should also be made to RAF prior to arrival.
ERBIL NORTH WEST AIRPORT
There is no airport handling authority at the Erbil NW, consequently no
cargo or passenger handling facilities are available. The agencies
flying to Erbil NW are responsible for cargo and passenger assistance.
In the absence of operating authority there are no safety and security
measurements at the airfield.
The airport is situated 3 km from the UN-office; it is only open for
aircraft up to C-130.
The runway is in bad condition as well with the grass growing through
the shoulders up to 1,5 mtr. The shoulders will not be able to support
medium weight aircraft.
Technical details