The government of Iraq has banned direct flights from Sulaimani and Erbil international airports to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca for Umrah pilgrimages for nearly four and a half months.

According to NRT the Kurdish delegation is expected to reach an agreement over the issue during their visit to Baghdad on Sunday, February 18, after Iraqi Directorate-General for Umrah responded to a request from the Kurdish ministry.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Religious and Endowment Affairs asked the Iraqi directorate to allow direct flights from the region’s airports to Saudi Arabia.

A statement issued by the National Operations Center of the Office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi showing the premier expressed willingness to lift the ban for the Kurdistan Region’s international airports towards Iraqi Muslims intending to perform Umrah.

Baghdad severed Kurdistan Region’s air links to the outside world in late September after the Region voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum rejected as illegal by the central government.

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