ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Baghdad International Airport is set to lift tight security measures on Saturday over two decades after they were implemented following the US invasion of Iraq, the transportation ministry said.
“On Saturday August 17, Baghdad International Airport, like any other airport in the world, will officially lift strict security measures and tourists will be able to fly through it with ease,” Iraqi transportation ministry spokesperson Maytham al-Safi told Rudaw, adding that the entrance to the airport will be divided into six lanes.
Safi said that the decision to loosen security measures came following a directive from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.
The directive tasked a high-level airport security committee to “open up the airport on Saturday and lift the state of emergency” in place at the airport since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to Safi.
Under the loosened security measures, citizens will be permitted access to the airport to welcome incoming passengers “without being asked for citizenship and national identity cards, and the procedures will be organized and normal,” the spokesperson said.
To enter Baghdad airport, an individual must pass through several security checkpoints, where the person is frisked and identity cards, vehicles, and bags are inspected.
Individuals welcoming passengers have also been prohibited from traveling to the airport gates with their own vehicles. They must instead make their way to Abbas ibn Firnas square and take private taxis operated by only a few companies. The companies are suspected to have ties with Iran-backed Iraqi militias.
Baghdad International Airport, Iraq’s largest airport, was first opened in 1982 as Saddam International Airport, named after the country’s dictator Saddam Hussein. The airport was renamed to its current name after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
