But Rudaini said one of the planes now belongs to the Iraqi Airways after paying its price.
The second is 80% Iraqi property with the remaining 20% of its price to be paid by the end of the year, he said.
Iraq had one of the largest passenger plane fleet in the Middle East but most of the planes were flown to Iran, Jordan and Tunisia for safety shortly before the 1991 Gulf War.
And they have stranded there since then as the U.N. trade sanctions forbade the planes from returning. However, Rudaini said it would cost the country more money repairing the planes than buying new ones.
Only those which were sent to Iran are operational but the Iranian authorities have refused to return them, saying their return should part of a comprehensive passage solving all outstanding issues, Rudaini added.
He did not elaborate on Iranian stand. There are currently scheduled flights to Baghdad, Basra in the south and Arbil and Sulaimaniya in the north.
But the air fare is perhaps among the dearest in the world mainly due to the high charges international insurance companies demand.
Rudaini said insurers normally charge $7 for a passenger but in Iraq’s case they demand $70. (Source)Anwar Jumaa, Azzaman
