A caravan from Seattle...
...and one of Dreamliners from Charleston soon. Iraq’s national carrier is making great efforts to meet international standards again, also with brand-new aircraft from the USA. This represents an important step towards getting off the EU’s blacklist.
The fact that Iraq, whose roughly 40 million inhabitants make the country the fifth-largest economy in the Arab world, doesn’t even appear in the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, says a lot about the logistics status it is accorded in the international arena.
This is partially also due to the rather demanding security situation in the politically unstable country. Its flag carrier, Iraqi Airways, founded in June 1945 as a division of Iraq’s state-owned railway enterprise, has been on the European Union’s no-fly list since 2020.
In order to change this and benefit from the country’s advantageous geographical location (without having to rely on aircraft leased from partners Baghdad)launched a rejuvenation programme a few years ago that’s now moving into focus.
In February Iraqi Airways took delivery of the first of 16 Boeing B737 Max units on order; they entered service in March.
Three B737s in one fell swoop
Three more followed in the same month, flying in convoy to Iraq from the USA via Iceland and landing at Baghdad airport at ten-minute intervals.
Things are also moving concerning wide-body aircraft. Iraqi Airways has ordered ten Dreamliners, nine B787-8s and one longer B787-9, the first of which is apparently ready for collection from Boeing in Charleston. Maybe the next caravan is assembling.