Direct flights between Baghdad and Berlin to start next December

Berlin – Al-Wasat Iraqi newspaper

The German company Eurowings announced today, Friday, that it will operate direct flights between Baghdad and Berlin starting next December.

"Starting on the tenth of next December, the German company Eurowings, a unit of the aviation giant Lufthansa, will operate four direct weekly flights from Berlin and the city of Düsseldorf (western Germany) to the Iraqi capital Baghdad, with two flights from Berlin and two from Düsseldorf each week," noting that "the new flights will be added to existing services that link Erbil directly with various German cities."

The company added that "this increase comes as the number of air passengers from Germany to Iraq rises, under what is known as the Friends and Relatives Visit program organized by Eurowings."

It continued that "the company is entering the Iraqi air transport market, taking advantage of the shortage of flights that directly connect Baghdad with Europe, which strengthens its position as an international carrier in the Middle East, after launching about 38 new routes in Europe and the Middle East. It also seeks to benefit from business traffic between the two countries, after the boost received by the business sector following Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi's visit to Germany, his invitation to German businessmen to expand their activities in Iraq, and his pledge to remove administrative and bureaucratic obstacles before them, lift the requirement to obtain visas in advance, and grant visas on arrival at the airport, reducing time and routine procedures."

He affirmed that "these flights will provide an opportunity for more than half a million Iraqis residing in Germany to connect with their relatives and friends between Iraq and Germany, reinforcing social and cultural ties between the two countries."