Airlines are queueing up to begin operations into Baghdad as soon as the city's international airport can be made operational.
First in - at Basra, in the south of the country - was Qatar Airways. On 10 June, it became the first airline to operate commercial services into Iraq in 12 years.
Also in the Gulf, Emirates and Gulf Air are known to be keen to begin services into post-war Iraq.
Gulf Air has said it will begin operations into Baghdad as soon as the airport is reopened. "Following the de-escalation of hostilities in Iraq and the urgent humanitarian and redevelopment challenges now facing the country, we would like to start flights as soon as possible," says chief executive James Hogan.
British Airways has said it wants to resume services from London to Baghdad for the first time in 13 years. It plans to operate a Boeing 767 three times a week from Heathrow. The move has brought objections from rival carrier Virgin Atlantic which has questioned BA's right to automatically resume flights after such a long time.
Northwest Airlines has also said it is interested in operating from Minneapolis to Baghdad.
The twice-weekly Qatar Airways service, using an Airbus A320, operates every Tuesday and Friday. Services will be heavy on freight - in the service of the humanitarian effort - to begin with. Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker flew on the inaugural service.
With a perception that the rebuilding of Iraq offers huge business opportunities, firms are eager to fly representatives into the country. Huge amounts of freight are also stockpiled in warehouses awaiting the opening of transportation links into the country. At present, there is limited access through the port of Umm Qasr in the south, while a lot of freight is heading overland into Iraq through Jordan and Syria.
With Dubai being named as one of three official "hubs" for sending reconstruction material into Iraq, Emirates is keen to begin services. Baghdad Airport is taking longer to re-open than originally thought. Damage to the runway and antiquated equipment means that it will be some weeks yet before it re-opens.
Meanwhile, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a $2.5 million initial management contract for five Iraqi airports to Skylink Air and Logistic Support of the USA.
The contract is aimed at opening up additional air links to facilitate the movement, initially, of relief aid. The move was welcomed by Ali Al Jallaf, director-general of Dubai Cargo Village, who said that goods destined for Iraq were piling up in warehouses awaiting shipment.
"Some types of goods, including medicines, cannot be sent by sea and since the sea link is also not there, there is only one way - to send it by air," he says.
The contract provides for the assessment of the condition of civilian airports, their repair and management in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.
Source: Flight Daily News
