Iraq reopens Kurdish airports to international flights

Iraq is reopening airports in the country’s Kurdish region to international flights after federal authority was restored at the hubs, according to a statement from the country’s prime minister Haider al-Abadi.

The announcement comes some six months after the airports were initially shut to international flights following a controversial referendum vote in northern Iraq’s self-ruled Kurdish region that overwhelmingly backed independence from Baghdad.

The airports are due to open “within a few days” government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi tells The Associated Press.

Al-Abadi describes the move as “a gift to the people of Kurdistan,” during a meeting aired on Iraqi state television and adds that the central government would also release salaries for government employees in the Kurdish region ahead of the celebration of the Kurdish new year later this month.

The decision to lift the flight ban comes as Iraq is preparing for national elections slated to be held in May. Initially, al-Aabdi’s tough line on Iraq’s Kurds translated into widespread public support among his base in Iraq’s Shiite heartland.

— AP