Baghdad to halt flights to northern Iraq

The Iraqi government has decided to suspend all international flights to the Kurdish region from Friday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar Abadi had said that all two-way international flights to the region would be stopped if Baghdad was not given control of the borders and airports within three days.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denied Baghdad’s request. Critical developments followed the illegal referendum held by KRG leader Masoud Barzani on Sept. 25.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced that it would halt all foreign flights to the Kurdish region.