Fly Baghdad to resume flights after US sanctions lifted

Fly Baghdad plans to resume flying this month, restarting service between Baghdad and Istanbul, according to the airline. The move follows an August 5 decision by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control to remove the carrier from its sanctions list.

The airline's chief executive, Alaulddin Abdalrahman, described the delisting as an opportunity for a fresh start. Fly Baghdad plans to begin operations with a Boeing 737, one of three it owns alongside a Bombardier CRJ200. Maintenance work on the fleet in Baghdad and Istanbul is still ongoing, the airline said.

According to the company, lifting the sanctions should make it easier to arrange agreements with maintenance providers, banks, insurers and leasing firms.

Abdalrahman called the Istanbul route a "golden route," noting that many Iraqis travel to the Turkish city for holidays, study or medical treatment. He said Fly Baghdad would aim to offer more convenient departure times than foreign carriers, whose schedules to Baghdad are often built around their own hub connections rather than the needs of Iraqi travelers. Erbil is expected to be added to the network later.

Fly Baghdad was founded in 2015 and has suspended operations several times since. In 2024 the United States sanctioned the airline over allegations that it had supported Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Its then chief executive, Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan, was sanctioned as well.