International flights in and out of Kurdistan

[Muscat_Diver]

I would be grateful for any information regarding likely resumption of flights out of EBL or ISU. I am guessing ISU more likely to open first?
Many thanks

[Wingman82]

Where on earth is kurdistan lol

[Killer Loop]

Where on earth is kurdistan lol

Iraq. Why the “lol”?

[Dirigible]

As no doubt you are aware both airports are operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government & have been closed since late September due to the independence referendum results. Refraining from any politics as per the rules of this forum, it appears that there is a deadlock in any negotiations with the Iraqi government who see the referendum as non binding & illegal. A bit like the Catalan situation I suppose. As a result of all this I would expect a long wait before there are any International flights to & from Erbil or Sulaimaniyah. Currently just military flights.

[Muscat_Diver]

As no doubt you are aware both airports are operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government & have been closed since late September due to the independence referendum results. Refraining from any politics as per the rules of this forum, it appears that there is a deadlock in any negotiations with the Iraqi government who see the referendum as non binding & illegal. A bit like the Catalan situation I suppose. As a result of all this I would expect a long wait before there are any International flights to & from Erbil or Sulaimaniyah. Currently just military flights.
Thank you for the reply. I have a dozen expat subcontractors to extricate from Erbil. Currently looking at domestic flights Erbil to Baghdad then onward flights to a Middle east hub (DXB?). The issue is that the guys do not have Iraq SEEV or MEEV so it seems they cannot pass from domestic to international terminals at Baghdad or Basra airports. I was hoping to find a Marhaba type service to assist with transfer but there does not appear to be such a thing. Will try Iraq Airways direct. Thanks again.

[boredintheairport]

No, they don't. All the international airlines serving Erbil (Qatar, Turkish, Austrian, RJ) have stopped, and it's not possible to book it online.

I don't know how it would work, but the service from Sulaymaniyah to Manchester still runs. It stops in Baghdad and Malmo, but as it's a through service maybe the problem of the pass won't be an issue for your people?