ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) has announced the resumption of their flights to and from the Erbil International Airport after the Iraqi government lifted the ban on international flights last Wednesday.
The airliner will have regular flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays every week, it announced on its official Facebook page on Tuesday.
The first flight will take off on April 3, MEA stated.
The first international flight by the Saudi’s flynas arrived at the Erbil airport from Jeddah on Monday, and since, other airliners such as flydubai have resumed flying.
State-owned Iraqi airways has also resumed non-stop international flights including with the Jordanian capital of Amman.
The Iraqi government imposed the flight ban just four days after the Iraqi-opposed Kurdistan Region independence referendum on September 25.
Since then, international travelers have been forced to go through Baghdad or Basra, and then board international flights.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters on Tuesday that he decided to lift the ban after the Kurdistan Region accepted all "federal demands," which effectively put Erbil and Sulaimani airports under Iraqi federal authority.
