Baghdad, April 3, (BNA) Iraqi Airlines Company's Deputy Director General, Zaid Al Sarraf, said an Iraqi private company will soon begin direct flights from Baghdad to a Chinese city.
In statements to Xinhua Chinese News Agency, today, Al Sarraf said that Iraqi Civil Aviation General Establishment gave the green light to "Al Rafidayn" Company to carry out flights from Baghdad to the Chinese city of Guangzhou. He added that the flights, which will occur on a weekly basis and involve three Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Arbeel and Sulaimaniya, aim at enhancing commercial and economic cooperation between Iraqi businessmen and their Chinese counterparts. Al Sarraf explained that over 75% of the airline's work has been completed, predicting it will achieve a considerable success as it will save Iraqi tradesmen, who used to travel to China via other countries, a lot of money. It is noteworthy that the Baghdad-Beijing weekly flights were suspended in 1990 after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.