Iraq-Kuwait air routes reopen under new Gulf arrangements

BAGHDAD — Air routes between Iraq and Kuwait reopened on Thursday under new arrangements agreed with Gulf states and the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Transport Ministry said.

The arrangements took effect at 2 p.m. Baghdad time after technical talks and approvals involving Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, reached under ICAO supervision with oversight from Transport Minister Wahab al-Hassani and the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management. Aircraft will fly along set routes and flight levels to keep controllers coordinated and aircraft safely separated. The system will be phased in and monitored, with the participating countries reviewing it, the ministry said.

Iraqi aviation has been repeatedly disrupted by the regional war. Iraq closed its airspace on Feb. 28 after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, reopening it on April 8, and closed it again on June 7 after renewed exchanges between Iran and Israel, reopening the next day. In September it returned large parts of its western airspace to civilian control after nine years of military restrictions, and the ministry said on Oct. 11 that traffic through Iraqi airspace had risen 31% since.