Jordan Times
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Iraqi Airways makes test
flight from Amman to Baghdad
AMMAN (AFP) — An Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 made a test flight from Amman to
Baghdad on Monday for the first time since the airline's planes were grounded in
Jordan by UN sanctions in 1990, a company official told AFP.
The newly-purchased Boeing left Amman at 11:25am with nine passengers and crew
on board, technical manager and head of the Iraqi Airways agency in Jordan,
Adnan Hadid, said.
“It was a test flight and the passengers were exclusively Iraqi Airways staff
and crew,” he said.
Asked if the company planned regular scheduled flights from Amman to Baghdad in
the near future, Adnan said: “Iraqi Airways will make arrangements in light of
today's test flight. Maybe in a week or two.”
Iraqi Airways regional director Abdul Razzaq Dulaimi saw off the plane at its
departure from Queen Alia International Airport, Hadid said.
He said it was not immediately clear if the plane would remain in Baghdad or
return to Amman.
“All further decisions will be taken by Iraqi Airways headquarters in Baghdad,”
said Hadid, a Jordanian national.
Baghdad's international airport is being used as a military base by the US-led
coalition forces and a high security jail for top officials of the ousted
regime.
The national carrier, Royal Jordanian, is the only airline that has been making
commercial flights to Iraq but depends on clearance from coalition troops in
Iraq for take off to and from Baghdad.
Six Iraqi Airways planes have been grounded in Jordan since UN sanctions were
slapped on Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Four are in
Tunisia.
On the eve of the invasion of Kuwait, the company paid European giant Airbus $10
million for four planes, shipments that never arrived when sanctions stalled the
deal.
Iraq's former interim transport minister Benham Polis said in May that the
company had a budget of $300 million to lease or buy aircraft from Airbus and
Boeing.
He hoped Iraq could reactivate the deal it had with Airbus before the invasion
of Kuwait.
Iraqi Airways' ailing fleet of grounded planes includes Boeing 727s and 707s.