The government of Iraq has said it will close the state-owned Iraqi Airways after announcing it bankrupt. The Iraqi transportation ministry told reporters the airline would be after a detrimental quarrel with Kuwait over war reparations.

According to Kuwait Airways, the Iraqi carrier owes it $1.2 bn for aircraft as well as aircraft parts taken during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The ministry blamed Kuwait saying it was responsible for the airlines failure because of “harassment”.

In April, lawyers representing Kawaiti authorities attemted to have an Iraqi Airlines plane taken into custody while at London’s Gatwick Airport. The plane had just arrived after the first direct flight between Baghdad and London in 20 years.

The chief executive of the airline also had his passport confiscated and was detained in London, but has since returned to Iraq.

In the beginning of the week, Iraqi Airways announced it would stop flights to Europe and Sweden because of Kuwait’s efforts to receive compensation. Iraqi Airways also serves other destinations including Beirut, Tehran, and Dubai.

Whether or not the airline will cease operations immediately is unclear. The next flight between London and Baghdad is still scheduled to fly Friday, and agents are still accepting bookings.

The closure of the airline is likely to put 30 jobs at risk in the UK.

Source: BBC