“The halting of international flights in Erbil and Sulaimani airports has caused great damage to companies. In the past, we were selling 40 to 60 tickets per day. Nowadays we sell less than five,” said Zirian Bahjat, manager of the tourism company Ahmed Company.
Though the ban was imposed on international flights only, the numbers of people flying domestically have also dropped.
“There is intense competition among companies due to decline in ticket sales. Some companies sell tickets cheap to cover the expenses of the employees and rent of their offices. Some other companies have laid off their employees or closed some of their branches,” Bahjat said.
Travelers now have two choices: flying to Baghdad via Iraqi Airways and from there flying abroad or applying for a Turkish visa and then travelling by car or bus via Ibrahim Khalil port to airports in Diyarbakir and Shirnakh and flying from there.
“If travelers choose the first option, they should pay $170 to Iraqi Airways. In addition, ticket fares are higher in Baghdad than in Erbil and Sulaimani. Hence flight fares have increased by at least $200,” Bahjat said.
“Some travelers choose to travel via the Ibrahim Khalil port because of bad treatment from employees at Baghdad airport. But this route requires travelers to have a Turkish visa and this takes time. This is in addition to the expenses and much effort,” Bahjat detailed.
This route may also be closed in the future. On Monday as Iraqi forces launched an attack on Kurdish forces in Kirkuk, Turkey’s National Security Council called for closing the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing.
Hundreds of aviation and tourism companies were established in the Kurdistan Region because of increasing economic and business activities, especially following Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. There are more than 250 aviation companies in Erbil alone.
“Some companies might go bankrupt and close their offices or branches if the blockade on the airports continues,” Bahjat said.
Matin Express is a cargo company that has been operating for 14 years. The first cargo plane which landed at Erbil International Airport carried cargo for this company. With the blockade, however, their business has dropped.
“The halting of the flights has had much impact on our work. For example, in the past, we had 50 tons of cargo daily. Currently, however, it’s been two weeks we haven’t been able to import 50 tons of cargo from Baghdad airport,” said Bilind Ismael, Sales Manager at Matin Express Company.
“Importing air cargo via Baghdad airport and bringing it home by land from there costs a lot. For example, the fare for importing one kilo of cloth from Dubai to Erbil was previously $2.75. Nowadays, it costs nearly $5. In the past, importing one kilo of goods from China to Erbil cost $4. Nowadays it costs nearly $9,” Ismael detailed.
His company has nearly 15 offices in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and China. He is now looking for other routes to bring goods into the Kurdistan Region.
“Bringing cargo via Baghdad airport and then by land takes much time and the road is not safe. This is in addition to its cost. That is why we are thinking of using Turkey’s Adana airport instead of Baghdad’s to transport our cargo,” Ismael said.
“We have reduced working hours for our employees because of a reduction in our activities. If this crisis continues, we will have no choice but to cut down on the number of our employees and close some of our offices,” Ismael said.
The number of daily passengers out of Erbil has fallen dramatically.
“We currently have only 4 to 5 flights to Baghdad and Basra. The number of our travelers has declined from 5000 to 250,” said Talar Faeq, director general of Erbil International Airport.
Even the number of domestic passengers has dropped, she said.
“We predicted that the number of travelers using Iraqi Airways would increase following the halting of international flights. But this number has reduced by 50 percent because less people are using this airliner.”
“Currently, our expenses are more than our income. Our financial losses are estimated to be $350,000 to $400,000 daily. These losses are those of airport’s service expenses and the companies working in the airport like taxis and service companies, plane fuel companies and others,” Faeq said.
Sulaimani airport is also losing money.
“Our income has declined, but our expenses and services are the same. That is why our daily expenses are more than our income by $50,000,” said Tahir Abdullah, director general of Sulaimani international airport.
The number of flights from Sulaimani to Baghdad has increased, Abdullah said. They are now operating 4 or 5 flights a day. “But flights between Sulaimani, Basra and Najaf have not increased. We have only two flights per week,” Abdullah added.
