Monday, September 17, 2007
Kurdistan flights to Sweden and Germany to resume
Kurdistan
(KRG) - KRG (Kurdistan regional government) minister of transportation Burhan saeid Sofi announced during a press conference that Kurdistan Region Flights to Resume to Sweden and Germany in the next week. "Kurdistan region's sky is secure and investigations of the Swedish airlines company showed that news that allegedly Swedish airplanes has been shot were baseless" said, KRG minister of transportation.
"Flights from Sweden to Sulaimaniyah will resume by the next week, but another company will conduct those flights." He added. In August, Sweden has suspended commercial flights to and from Kurdistan region (Iraq) after an apparent rocket attack against a passenger jet as it took off from the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, the Nordic country's aviation authority said Tuesday. Sulaimaniyah International Airport Authority, Kamaran Ahmed, said a local investigation found no evidence that a missile was fired and blamed the scare on bright lights being used on the ground.
"Flights from Sweden to Sulaimaniyah will resume by the next week, but another company will conduct those flights." He added. In August, Sweden has suspended commercial flights to and from Kurdistan region (Iraq) after an apparent rocket attack against a passenger jet as it took off from the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, the Nordic country's aviation authority said Tuesday. Sulaimaniyah International Airport Authority, Kamaran Ahmed, said a local investigation found no evidence that a missile was fired and blamed the scare on bright lights being used on the ground.
Labels: Burhan saeid Sofi, Germany, KRG, Nordic Airways, Sulaimaniyah, Sweden
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
KRG in discussions with Austrian Airlines to resume flights
Travel
(Kurdistan Observer) - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its airport authorities are in discussions with Austrian Airlines, and all are hopeful that the airline will resume flights to Erbil. The KRG was informed by Austrian on 25 August that it would temporarily suspend flights between Vienna and Erbil International Airport.
Austrian took the decision following an alleged incident at Sulaimani International Airport reported by the pilot of Nordic Airways, a Swedish charter airline, earlier this month. After thorough investigation, the KRG has found no evidence of foul play at or in the area surrounding Sulaimani airport. The Erbil International Airport authority understands the concerns that led Austrian to its decision, even though the alleged incident took place at another airport and KRG investigations have found no evidence to substantiate the report.
The airport authorities and the KRG would like to stress that the safety of passengers and crews is their priority. The cities of Erbil and Sulaimani and their international airports are peaceful. Security in and around both airports is the KRG’s highest priority and is maintained to the highest degree. The KRG, Erbil International Airport and Sulaimani International Airport are in discussion with Austrian, and all sides hope and expect Austrian Airlines to continue to operate its very successful and popular flights to Erbil. Meanwhile flights from Frankfurt, Dubai, Istanbul, Amman, Beirut, Tehran, Damascus and other cities to Erbil have maintained their regular schedules. Flights from Munich, Dubai, Amman and other cities to Suleimaniah continue.
Labels: Austrian Airlines, Erbil, KRG, Nordic Airways
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sweden suspends Iraq flights
Kurdistan
(AP) -- Sweden has suspended commercial flights to and from Iraq after an apparent rocket attack against a passenger jet as it took off from the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, the Nordic country's aviation authority said Tuesday. In the incident last Wednesday, pilots of the Nordic Airways plane carrying 130 passengers noticed a trail of light arching over the aircraft just after takeoff, Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Anders Lundblad said.
The McDonnell Douglas MD83 plane was not hit, and arrived safely in Stockholm. Lundblad said the incident was being investigated, but that preliminary information suggested "some kind of rocket" was fired at the plane. The authority suspended all commercial airline traffic between Sweden and Iraq last week pending a review of the security situation in northern Iraq.
It is rare for such violence to occur in Sulaimaniyah, a city in Iraq's relatively peaceful autonomous Kurdish region, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad. The Swedish decision affected two small airlines: Nordic Airways, which flies once a week between Stockholm and Sulaimaniyah, and Viking Airlines, which operates four flights a week between Stockholm and Irbil, also in northern Iraq.
Nordic Airways had rebooked passengers departing from Iraq on other airlines, while some 3,000 people booked on Viking Airlines flights were stranded in Iraq, the aviation authority said. Sweden is home to more than 70,000 Iraqi immigrants, many of whom come from the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq.
Mikael Wangdahl, Chief Executive of Nordic Airways said the incident was immediately reported to air traffic controllers and the U.S. military. The pilots then were advised to continue the flight, but to take a shorter route. Passengers and cabin crew did not notice what happened, Wangdahl said, but crew members were briefed about it after the plane landed in Stockholm. Kurdish authorities have denied there was an attack.
The McDonnell Douglas MD83 plane was not hit, and arrived safely in Stockholm. Lundblad said the incident was being investigated, but that preliminary information suggested "some kind of rocket" was fired at the plane. The authority suspended all commercial airline traffic between Sweden and Iraq last week pending a review of the security situation in northern Iraq.
It is rare for such violence to occur in Sulaimaniyah, a city in Iraq's relatively peaceful autonomous Kurdish region, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad. The Swedish decision affected two small airlines: Nordic Airways, which flies once a week between Stockholm and Sulaimaniyah, and Viking Airlines, which operates four flights a week between Stockholm and Irbil, also in northern Iraq.
Nordic Airways had rebooked passengers departing from Iraq on other airlines, while some 3,000 people booked on Viking Airlines flights were stranded in Iraq, the aviation authority said. Sweden is home to more than 70,000 Iraqi immigrants, many of whom come from the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq.
Mikael Wangdahl, Chief Executive of Nordic Airways said the incident was immediately reported to air traffic controllers and the U.S. military. The pilots then were advised to continue the flight, but to take a shorter route. Passengers and cabin crew did not notice what happened, Wangdahl said, but crew members were briefed about it after the plane landed in Stockholm. Kurdish authorities have denied there was an attack.
Labels: Anders Lundblad, Kurdistan, Mikael Wangdahl, Nordic Airways, Sulaimaniyah, Sweden, Viking Airlines
Monday, August 13, 2007
Kurdish officials dismiss reports of attack on Swedish plane
Security
(Kurdistan Observer) - Aviation officials from Iraq's Kurdish region on Saturday dismissed reports that a Swedish airliner had been targeted by a missile as it took off with 130 passengers on board. According to the Swedish TT news agency, the pilots of a Nordic Airways MD-83 jet saw flashes in the sky on Thursday as they took off from Sulaimani in Southern Kurdistan and feared they may be under attack.
But the chairman of the Sulaimani Airport Authority, Kamaran Ahmed, said a local investigation found no evidence that a missile was fired and blamed the scare on bright lights being used on the ground."We think that the object that had been noticed by the pilot 'suspiciously' was a special type of 'high intensity lighting projector' mounted on vehicles usually used by hunters in the area," he said, in a statement in English. The beam could also have been from a light used by farmers during a rush to harvest in the region, the statement added, while insisting that security forces had searched a 30-kilometre (18-mile) diameter area around the airport.
The Kurdish regional government also said there was no reason to worry."No plane at the Sulaimani International Airport has come under attack. This is untrue and baseless news," its spokesman Khalid Saleh told AFP. Autonomous Kurdish region is proud that it has managed to escape the worst of the violence that has gripped the centre and south of the country since the US-led invasion of March 2003. The mountainous region has opened air links to several European and regional destinations and launched an international advertising drive designed to lure tourists and investors to Sulaimani and its capital Arbil. Nordic flies from Stockholm to Sulaimani once a week.
Labels: Kamaran Ahmed, Khalid Saleh, Nordic Airways, Sulaimaniya, Sweden
Friday, August 10, 2007
Swedish plane fired at while flying over northern Iraq
Security
(SR) - A Swedish passenger jet has been fired at while flying over northeastern Iraq. The Nordic Airways plane was carrying some 130 passengers, and had just taken off from Sulaymaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan, en route to Stockholm. After the pilot saw bright light flashes, the crew realized that someone had opened fire but no damage has been reported, and no passengers were injured. The plane landed at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport on Thursday, without the passengers being aware of what had occurred. The airline makes one journey a week on this route, but has suspended all flights until further notice.
Labels: Arlanda, Nordic Airways, northeastern Iraq, passenger jet, Sulaymaniyah
