The general director of Iraqi Airways, Saad al-Khafaji, announced that flights from Baghdad to Kuwait will resume on Feb. 28, after a 22-year suspension following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The invasion led to a multinational war to oust Iraqi forces from the neighboring emirate and then 13 years of economic sanctions against Iraq under President Saddam Hussein. Bilateral relations between Iraq and Kuwait have since resumed.
“One of our planes was supposed to fly this week for the first time to Kuwait after years of suspension; however, the flight was rescheduled until next Thursday,” said Khafaji in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor. “The delay is related to the readiness of Kuwait to receive the Iraqi plane,” he added. Baghdad had announced the resumption of Iraqi Airways flights to Kuwait a few days earlier.