10/03/2004: Iraqi Airways Restarts Operations Post-war

DALLAS — Today, in 2004, Iraqi Airways (IA) recommenced scheduled international operations with a flight between Baghdad and Amman. This followed the grounding of the airline following the Iraq War.

A new company was established to build the new airline and distance itself from Saddam Hussein's regime. Today, the carrier operates an extensive network across Europe and the Middle East.

Its fleet includes the Airbus A320, A321, and A330 and there are outstanding orders for 16 Boeing 737-8s and four Airbus A220-300s.

History

Iraqi Airways was founded in 1945 and is one of the oldest airlines in the Middle East. Operations commenced on January 28, 1946.

Five Dragon Rapides were later supplemented by Vickers Viscounts in 1955. The airline entered the jet age in the 1960s with the arrival of the Tupolev TU-124 and Hawker Siddeley Trident.

The 1970s were a boom time for IA. New York (JFK) was added to the network operated by the recently purchased Boeing 707. The service proved so popular that a larger aircraft was required, and the Boeing 747 was added.

First Grounding

However, the rise of Saddam Hussein saw the downfall of the airline. In 1991, sanctions were imposed by the United Nations against Iraq, which led to the carriers grounding.

Limited domestic flights restarted in January 1992 from Baghdad to Basra using the Russian-built Antonov An-24. Because of the no-fly zone imposed by the US and UK over Iraqi airspace, even these became a rarity.