Tahir Abdullah told NRT that the halt of the flights from Iran, Turkey and Europe resulted in a lot of financial damage to Sulaimani Airport.

According to Abdullah, June 10 has been set as the date to restart flights which will initially be conducted twice a week.

Abdullah said it is unknown that when flights between Sulaimani International Airport and Turkey will restart.

He blamed it on the Turkish government disapproval saying the Sulaimani Airport has no technical, air traffic and legal issue with Turkish airports.

Ankara has refused to open its airspace to flights conducted from Turkey and Europe to Sulaimani’s international airport, he added.

He further said that the Iraqi government should bear the responsibility and resolve the issue based on the aviation agreement struck between the two sides.

Tehran and Turkey 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, which was rejected as illegal by the central government.

Flights between Erbil airport, Tehran and Turkey resumed later, but the two countries’ airspace remained shut towards Sulamani’s airport.

Reporter’s code: 50101