Baghdad Flights Pre-War

[rjemery]

Before the current hostilities ensued, were
there flights, regular or irregular, between Baghdad and neighboring countires?

Even with the southern and northern no-fly zones, planes could have flown between Baghdad and Amman
or Damascus, two capitals with normal relations
with Iraq.

[Maxrev]

From what I can understand, most of the Iraqi Airways fleet was scattered around the Middle East prior to the liberation of Kuwait.

The fleet is pretty old, with a selection of 727's and 747's which haven't moved for over ten years.

It's rumoured that the Iraqis still have a 747, a 727 and a couple of old Russian transports remaining in Iraq.

The Iraqis stole four aircraft from Kuwait Airways after the occupation, two 767's and two Airbuses which were subsequently destroyed on the ground in Iraq by Allied forces.

But to answer your question, with the exception of the odd Hajj flight sneaked past the UN, there haven't been any scheduled Baghdad flights for years.

[rjemery]

Maxrev,

Put another way then, there has been no significant commercial air traffic over Iraq since the first Gulf war? Either from within or without (e.g., the national airlines, if any, of Jordan or Syria)?

That would be surprising. To my knowledge, the Baghdad tower was always manned, or at least it seems so. There were numerous UN flights and cargo flights from various countries.