Iraq has extended by three months a ban on international flights to the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a senior official at the Arbil airport said on Feb. 26.
The federal government in Baghdad first imposed the air blockade in September after Iraqi Kurdistan voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum rejected as illegal by the central government.
It was extended in December for two months and was to run until February 28 but the authorities decided to renew it for three months, the official said.
“We have been informed by the civil aviation authority in Baghdad that the ban on international flights to and from Arbil and Sulaimaniyah airports has been extended until the end of May,” he said. “Only internal flights are authorized.”
The federal government in Baghdad first imposed the air blockade in September after Iraqi Kurdistan voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum rejected as illegal by the central government.
It was extended in December for two months and was to run until February 28 but the authorities decided to renew it for three months, the official said.
“We have been informed by the civil aviation authority in Baghdad that the ban on international flights to and from Arbil and Sulaimaniyah airports has been extended until the end of May,” he said. “Only internal flights are authorized.”