Transport Minister Salam Al Maliki told the National Assembly that he hoped flights would resume to Frankfurt, one of Europe's main hubs, as well as Middle Eastern destinations.
'God willing, there will be flights to Dubai, Frankfurt, Tehran, Istanbul, Beirut and Cairo by the end of this month,' Maliki said without elaborating which airlines might operate the routes.
State airline Iraqi Airways, which was grounded by sanctions after Saddam's army invaded Kuwait in 1990, has over the past year been rebuilding its operations despite violence which has hampered transport since the war two years ago.
It already flies to Amman and Damascus and this week began domestic flights to Basra in the south for the first time since the US invasion in 2003. Royal Jordanian, the only foreign commercial passenger carrier landing at Baghdad, employs specially trained aircrew and combat zone flying techniques.
Maliki also told parliament that Sulaimaniyah airport, in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, will reopen next month, some months ahead of schedule. The airport at the Kurdish capital Arbil is already open. (Source) Iraqi Media Network
