Ban on Kurdistan Airports Causing Daily Loss of $60,000

Baghdad’s ban on the arrival and departure of foreign flights at/from Kurdistan airports has reportedly caused a loss of 50 to 60 thousand dollars a day.

Following a referendum on the secession of the Kurdistan region from Iraq on September 25, 2017, the federal government in Baghdad adopted a series of punitive measures against the KRG, including a halt to foreign flights at its airports.

According to a Farsi report by IRNA, one week on since the ban went into effect, head of Sulaymaniyah International Airport Tahir Abdullah has spoken of the fallout from the measure.

“We have suffered a huge loss. Income from domestic flights is not that much, even not enough to pay the staff’s salaries,” he said.

According to Abdullah, the halt to international flights has caused a loss of 50 to 60 thousand dollars a day. Before the punitive measure went into force, he added, some $10 million worth of commodities were imported into Kurdistan via air.

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