KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will launch scheduled services to the Iraq capital Baghdad on September 1. The four weekly roundtrip services will be operated with Boeing 767 equipment, probably in conjunction with another destination in the Middle East. Aeropolitical negotiations have yet to be rounded off.
KLM suspended services to Baghdad in 1985, following the outbreak of war between Iran and Iraq. All Western carriers suspended operations to Iraq when the Gulf War broke out in 1990.
Now that recovery in Iraq is coming, there is growing demand for passenger and cargo transport by air. KLM intends to meet this need with its new scheduled services.
Together with its partners Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines, KLM is currently assessing whether these flights can be operated on a codeshare basis. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
