Iraq returns western military airspace to civilian control after nine years

BAGHDAD — Iraq has ended military reservation of airspace across its western region and handed it to civilian aviation authorities, nine years after the zones were closed to civilian traffic during the war against the Islamic State group.

The airspace management team at the Air Operations Center formally confirmed the areas listed in Iraq’s aeronautical information publication were no longer in military use, said Ehab Saad Karim, director of the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management. “All areas that had been reserved in the western part of the country, from north to south, have been handed over to the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management for use in civil aviation,” he told a news conference. The restrictions began between 2016 and 2017.

The change followed years of technical work with the office of the commander-in-chief and Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir al-Shammari, Karim said. The zones must now be removed from Iraq’s aeronautical publications and the air navigation information updated so international airlines can use them.

Opening the corridors would give controllers room to route commercial traffic through western Iraq, potentially shortening flight paths, increasing overflights and raising navigation revenue. Karim said Iraqi airports and air navigation staff were ready once the routes open.