Austrian Airlines brings back Baghdad flights

An Airbus A319 plane operated by France's Aigle Azur lands at Baghdad's International Airport on Oct. 31, 2010, becoming the first flight from a European airline to arrive in the city since a 1990 international embargo on Iraq. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Austrian Airlines will restart service to Baghdad on June 8, after a 21 year hiatus, the carrier reported Wednesday.

Austrian Airlines plans to have three flights per week from Vienna to the Iraqi capital, using an Airbus A320. Austrian already flies to Erbil, in northern Iraq.

The carrier said it originally launched the the Vienna-Baghdad route in 1982, but “was forced to discontinue its service due to the Kuwait crisis in 1990.”

France’s Aigle Azur was the first European airline to restart service to Baghdad, landing an Airbus A319 there on Oct. 31, 2010.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/2011/04/20/austrian-airlines-brings-back-baghdad-flights/