Airport Director: Erbil Had 500,000 Passengers In 2010
General-director of Erbil International Airport Talar Faiq. Photo Rudaw.
In an elaborate ceremony in Dubai last month, Talar Faiq, general-director of Erbil International Airport, was awarded the Best Woman in Aviation in 2010 by the Emerging Markets Airport Awards 2011. Faiq is a veteran aviation professional, having worked with the Iraqi Airways and United Nations flight missions. Rudaw’s Hevidar Ahmed met with Faiq for this interview.
Rudaw: Did you ever imagine there would one day be an airport like this in Kurdistan?
Talar Fayaq: Until 2006 I couldn’t believe it. I traveled a few times from London to Kurdistan and sometimes it would take me 29 hours to get home. When they eventually said the old Erbil military airport would become an international airport, I was still skeptical. I used to come to the airport site to jog because it was an abandoned plot of land.
Rudaw: Did you expect to become director of Erbil International Airport?
Talar Fayaq: I hadn’t thought about it seriously, but I don’t hide the fact that I have always liked working in airports. That is also why, after I finished university in 1989, I took special courses in airport management before working for Iraqi Airways and other airports abroad with the UN. Working in airports is very different from other work. It is a 24-hour job. There are times when a plane has to do an emergency landing for weather or fuel reasons and the airport director should be there and make the decisions.
Rudaw: How many of the airport staff are Kurds?
Talar Fayaq: Most of them are Kurds and most of the department heads are Kurds. There are Korean consultants working with us, too.
Rudaw: Are there any other airports like Erbil International in Iraq?
Talar Fayaq: I don’t think so. Baghdad airport continues to be very strict and Sulaimani and Najaf airports are much smaller than Erbil’s. Erbil airport is far better and more state- of-the-art.
Rudaw: How many passengers travel through your airport?
Talar Fayaq: The number of passengers going through Erbil airport is the biggest in Iraq. Last year alone, we had 500,000 passengers.
"If the region is safe, ticket prices will go down because more companies will come and there will be more competition"
Rudaw: Do people try to get through with fake passports?
Talar Fayaq: Yes, people have tried to fly out of here with fake passports but we have detained them. We detain these people on a monthly basis. I can say proudly that the Germans have recognized our passport department as professional and that we can teach courses on how to identify fake passports and visas.
Rudaw: Given that air transport is new in Kurdistan, how much do the Kurdish people know about traveling through an airport?
Talar Fayaq: People have learned when to arrive at the airport, their departure time and baggage collection. But we still face some issues, particularly with the Hajjis [Muslim pilgrims]. They are old and need a lot of guidance and help.
Rudaw: Where do most people travel to from here?
Talar Fayaq: They mainly travel to countries that don’t require visas like Lebanon and Turkey. A lot of people also travel to Europe because many Kurds live in Europe.
Rudaw: How many airlines have flights to Erbil?
Talar Fayaq: There are 15 airlines now; the newest one is Cyprus Airways. Atlas [Jet] and Iraqi Airways have daily flights to Erbil and Turkish Airways is planning to make its flights daily. Egypt Air is also planning to start flights.
Rudaw: Many people criticize the high price of tickets. Has this affected the number of travelers?
Talar Fayaq: That issue is not related to the airport. Ticket prices are related to the companies and the reason for the high prices is that there is no competition between the companies. If the region is safe, ticket prices will go down because more companies will come and there will be more competition. Also there were companies who were happy to come to Kurdistan but Baghdad caused troubles for them by telling them they had to fly to Baghdad first before flying to Kurdistan. Those companies don’t want that because of the bad security situation there. And according to Iraqi laws, if you don’t have Iraq’s permission you cannot fly into Iraqi airspace.
Rudaw: The Kurdistan Regional Government has allocated a budget for your airport. Do you think your airport will turn in profits one day?
Talar Fayaq: If we plan well and prepare better in terms of security and open trading bases and cargo departments, many people from around the world will come to Kurdistan. Geographically and economically, Kurdistan can become a trading hub like Dubai and right now we have strategic plans to increase Erbil’s flight traffic. If foreigners see the current situation in Kurdistan and see the progresses it has made, they will think about setting up here.
Rudaw: Does anyone in Kurdistan own private jets?
Talar Fayaq: I can’t think of anyone, but I know some people lease planes. At Erbil airport there are two companies and anyone -- politicians, government officials or businessman -- can go to them and lease planes. There are rich people who lease planes for themselves and their families and surly it’s very expensive. There have been people who have leased a private plane to travel abroad and get treatment.
Rudaw: Who can travel as a VIP?
Talar Fayaq: In the past the concept of VIP was misunderstood. There were government officials who would travel as VIPs along with their families and bodyguards. There were ministers and deputy ministers whom we didn’t let travel as VIPs and they caused us a lot of trouble. But now this has ended and even Kurdistan President’s families and his sons do not travel as VIPs.
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Wladimir van Wilgenburg studied the BA International Relations and
Political History and also finished the two minors Journalism and New
Media and Conflict Studies. This year he is busy with his masters
degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights at the University of
Utrecht. He has been working as a freelance journalist and analyst for
Turkish, Kurdish, Dutch and American institutes and media outlets.
Recently he participated in a project of the NGO Pax Christi about the
future of the Dutch military.
The fact that the airport handled only 500,000 passengers during 2010 definitely means that there is too much room for growth. However, with such ambitious plans of Ms. Faiq, we can safely raise our bets on Erbil Airport for being the main hub in the north of Iraq in the near future.
The fact that the airport handled only 500,000 passengers during 2010 definitely means that there is too much room for growth. However, with such ambitious plans of Ms. Faiq, we can safely raise our bets on Erbil Airport for being the main hub in the north of Iraq in the near future.
I strongly suggest for Ms Faiq to look at how the staff are dealing with people unprofessional sometimes at the airport.
On 29th April it happens that I had to fly out from Erbil airport. We all remember that day coincided with the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in the UK and it was declared a bank holiday in the UK so everyone will get the chance to see it if they choose to. The New York Times estimated that 3 billion people watched the royal wedding which would mean literally 1 out of 2 people spent their Friday morning watching the wedding worldwide.
However, at Ms Faiq’s airport I had the following experience: after checking in I went through the security point and rushed to the waiting hall in the hope to at least get a glimpse of this event. To my surprise I noticed the TV in the hall was showing a recorded football match between Spain and Italy (I think) dated 6-7 years ago. The hall was full of passengers with probably over 85% were foreigners. I was accompanied with 3 foreigners who were also anxious to watch the event or at least watch any news instead of watching a 6-7 year old football match! I confidently, asked one of the airport staff to help me change this channel to BBC World or any other station as the event was broadcast worldwide including KRG TV channels. The man who was a foreigner ushered me to one of the security man. I duley approached him and told him (in Kurdish) can you please help to change the TV channel as people are excited today all over the world watching TVs. He sarcastically replied and asked me “where in the world people are excited and why?. I told him don’t you know today is the royal wedding and people are glued to TVs watching the event? I was expecting to hear some kind of smooth answer and understanding. However, what I heard was a real sock. He replied angrily “this is Iraq” and he added, “I don’t care whether the whole world is excited or not”. I couldn’t believe my ears for a couple of seconds but replied and said to him “firstly, this is Kurdistan and more importantly this is THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN ERBIL as you can see there is only 15% of the travellers are Iraqis and the rest are foreigners who they want to catch up with the news and your TV at least should broadcast some live news and not replay 7 year old football match” but my words did not go down on him at all instead he was somehow staring at me in disapproval of my request. The thing that I asked for should have been looked at by the manager or people who are in control including Ms Talar Faiq. I think this is the overall responsibility of the airport director to make sure that all these things are in order and up to date according to the international standard not according to uneducated people like the security person in charge of the team at the airport.
I have more real examples only during my 6 times fly in fly out of the airport but lets leave the rest for another time, may be when there would be a chance to meet the Director face to face and discuss the issue.
Obviously, as a Kurd I would like to see the airport as good as any other international airports. I think the Director should review these procedures and should not let some people like the one I came across to spoil the good work and efforts put into this airport.
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