Saudi hybrid carrier flynas operated the first direct flight between Riyadh and the Iraqi capital Baghdad Oct. 17, ending a 27-year gap in services between the two countries.
Services ceased at the time of the first Gulf War in 1990, when Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime invaded Kuwait.
It took until August 2017 for the atmosphere between the two Arab nations to warm sufficiently for them to sign an MOU on the resumption of direct air services. An agreement was signed this week in Baghdad allowing the start of services.
Flynas said it plans to start flights between several Saudi and Iraqi cities “in the coming weeks,” without giving further details.
The first commercial flight occurred Oct. 18 when a flynas A320 arrived at Baghdad International Airport. Film on the airline’s Twitter feed showed the aircraft taxiing in to the traditional water-arch salute.