State-owned flag carrier EgyptAir has stated on its Twitter page that the company is planning to resume flights to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday.
استئناف رحلات مصرللطيران إلى بغداد السبت القادم
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) January 9, 2020
بعد تقييم و متابعة الموقف الأمني ، قررت مصرللطيران استئناف رحلاتها الجوية إلى بغداد اعتباراً من يوم السبت القادم الموافق ١١ يناير pic.twitter.com/7jnVtYXTHB
The statement comes amid planes being grounded around the world after the Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 crash in Tehran. EgyptAir on 8 January also suspended its flights for three days, citing instability in the region.
A Boeing 737-800 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines and bound for Kiev crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran Airport on Wednesday morning. All 176 people on board were killed. The crash occurred on the same day that Iranian forces conducted a missile strike on US troops stationed at two military bases in Iraq. The involved parties, however, have assured the international community that there are no links between the two incidents.
The United States has suspended civilian flights over a large part of the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf, due to increased military activity and political tensions in the region. China said it was closely monitoring air security over Iraq and Iran, but had not yet notified airlines of a suspension of flights. Air Canada said it was rerouting its flights to Dubai to avoid Iraqi airspace. Turkish flagship carrier Turkish Airlines on Wednesday suspended flights to Iran and Iraq.
