On Friday, Ankara announced it was opening its airspace to flights in and out of Erbil airport after Baghdad lifted its international flight ban on the Kurdistan Region, but said it would not do the same for planes headed to Sulaimani, alleging terror activities against Turkey were being carried out in the province.
Kurdish MPs slammed Turkey’s decision as an attempt to divide the Kurdistan Region.
Barzani is currently engaged in efforts to have Turkey also open its airspace for Sulaimani flights, Rudaw has learned.
Turkish officials have previously alleged ties between the banned PKK and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the ruling party in Sulaimani. The PUK’s representative in Turkey was kicked out of the country last year.
“There are no threats, especially from the airports of Sulaimani, on the airlines of Turkey,” the PUK’s Arez Abdullah told reporters.
He accused Turkey of wanting to separate Erbil and Sulaimani and said the two airports of the Kurdistan Region should be dealt with together.
“This is to steer rivalries between the political parties of the Kurdistan Region,” he said, adding that Turkey wants to see the KRG divided into two governments.
Gorran similarly condemned Turkey’s action, questioning its motives.
"This is a very dangerous political case. This is an effort to beat down the entity of the Kurdistan Region and divide it into two. The decision to stop flights from Sulaimani is not an economic issue. It is not an issue of business or trade. It accuses Sulaimani of supporting terrorism,” Hoshyar Abdullah, a Gorran MP in the Iraqi parliament, told reporters.
They have told Turkey’s ambassador to Iraq in face-to-face meetings that the PKK is not a terrorist organization. “PKK fights the terror of [Turkish President] Erdogan’s state,” he said.
“Sulaimani as a province, as a community, takes pride in being the base of freedom and struggle throughout its existence. Sulaimani has been fighting terrorism throughout its existence,” Gorran’s Abdullah declared.
The PUK’s Abdullah asked the KRG, Baghdad, and the international community to stand against Turkish threats. He called on Turkey to solve its problems with the Kurdistan Region at the negotiating table and for parties from greater Kurdistan (Iran, Turkey, and Syria as well as Iraq) to consider the situation in the Kurdistan Region.
International airlines are resuming their service to Erbil.
According to Erbil International Airport: Flydubai has a daily route to Dubai and Iraqi Airways has a twice weekly service to Amman.
After March 25, the following routes are confirmed: Middle East Airlines’ Beirut route will commence from April 3, Air Arabia will have twice weekly flights to UAE, Qatar Airways will offer daily flights beginning March 29, Pegasus will have 10 flights weekly from Ankara and Sabiha starting on March 29, and Atlas Global will operate twice daily flights commencing April 9.
Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and Turkish Airlines are waiting for approval from Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority to recommence operations.
Mahan Air, Germania, Royal Jordanian, and Egypt Air are yet to confirm dates for resumption of services, according to the airport.
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