BAGHDAD: Iraq has returned restricted airspace in the western part of the country to civilian authorities, ending limitations imposed for military operations since 2016, the Transport Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said all previously reserved airspace zones stretching across western Iraq from north to south had been handed over to the authority responsible for airports and air navigation, allowing them to be used for civil aviation.
The move is expected to give Iraqi aviation authorities greater flexibility to redesign flight routes, ease restrictions on aircraft movement and improve the overall efficiency of airspace use.
The restricted zones were designated for military operations in 2016 and 2017, when large parts of Iraq’s western desert were used as bases for military activities.
Ehab Saad Karim, director of the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management, said the airspace management team at the Air Operations Centre had officially confirmed that the military air zones listed in Iraq’s aeronautical guide were no longer being used for military operations.
Karim said the decision followed years of technical and institutional work aimed at improving the efficiency and flow of air traffic.
He added that reopening the routes would increase aviation revenue, improve the movement of civilian air traffic and support the national economy.
Transport Ministry spokesperson Hussein Ahmed told Reuters that the technical and regulatory procedures related to the reopening would be completed by October 1.
The ministry said the lifting of restrictions on military zones was also linked to withdrawal procedures being implemented as Iraq and the United States carry out arrangements for the departure of remaining troops from the US-led international coalition.
The reopening marks a further step towards expanding civilian use of Iraq’s airspace and streamlining air traffic operations across the western part of the country.
