ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s transport ministry declared on Sunday that it has successfully repatriated over 23,000 Iraqi and other nationals in just one week, who were stranded abroad due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
Maytham al-Safi, spokesperson for the Iraqi transport ministry, confirmed to Rudaw the successful completion of the repatriation plan aimed at “transporting stranded Iraqis in a number of airports” across various countries. He added that the remaining number of stranded persons “has reached a final zeroing stage.”
Iraq’s national carrier, Iraqi Airways, “completed 74 flights in seven days, transporting more than 23,000 passengers,” amid intense “cooperation from several countries.”
According to Safi, “The main hurdle in the transport operations was at destinations like Beirut, Ankara, and Turkey in general, as well as Georgia. However, after obtaining government approvals from Cyprus, Cypriot airspace was used to complete the transport operations,” facilitating the transport of Iraqis from these destinations, he said.
Regional tensions escalated significantly after Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 13, killing several senior military commanders and prompting retaliatory attacks from Tehran. In response, Iran launched multiple waves of missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets.
In a major development on Sunday, the United States carried out airstrikes targeting Iran’s three primary nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Over the past two weeks, a significant portion of Middle Eastern airspace, including that of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, has experienced temporary closures and severe restrictions due to the tit-for-tat military operations. This widespread disruption has also affected the airspaces of Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Despite these challenges, Safi emphasized to Rudaw that “the situation [in Iraq] is under control” and that “transport operations are being carried out smoothly and rapidly.”
According to the Transport Ministry spokesperson, “Iraqi Airways is the only national carrier that bore the responsibility of transporting Iraqis and other Arabs and foreigners within Iraq to their countries.”
Meanwhile, other entities within the Transport Ministry - namely the General Company for Air Navigation Services - have been facilitating the reopening of southern Iraq’s airspace for flights, especially through Basra International Airport.
He further clarified that the saturation of air traffic through Basra Airport and the disruption of travel via other airports in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region has resulted in a “temporary decline in profits” rather than direct losses.
Finally, Safi addressed reports claiming tickets were being overcharged due to the circumstances, refuting them as “inaccurate” and confirming that “ticket prices are fixed, and any citizen who faces extortion or price increases must report it [to the relevant authorities] immediately.”
