EgyptAir has reportedly suspended flights to Baghdad starting from Wednesday until Friday due to the instability of security conditions in the Iraqi capital, reported Reuters.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said the decision has been taken to ensure the safety of passengers and airplanes until security is established in Baghdad.
“Due to the current conditions and the unstable security situation in Baghdad, EgyptAir decided to suspend its all flights to the city,” the statement said. “The decision will be enforced starting from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10 to maintain the safety of the passengers and the airplanes until the security conditions in the city will be improved.”
The ministry said it is following the situation in coordination with all the concerned parties to evaluate the conditions in Iraq before making a decision to resume the flights. It called on the clients to adjust their reservations. Travelers who will miss their flights can call 1717 to change their tickets.
The situation in Iran continues to deteriorate after the United States killed Iran’s senior general Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, in an airstrike near Baghdad International Airport on Friday.
The airstrike also killed the head of the Iranian-backed militia Kata’ib Hizbollah, who the U.S. claim was responsible for killing a US contractor in a Dec. 27 rocket attack on an Iraqi military base near Kirkuk.
Iran has vowed to respond to the US military action and declared on Sunday that it would no longer abide by a nuclear accord it signed in 2015 with world powers, an agreement the US withdrew from in 2018. Several nations have issued travel warnings and asked their citizens to leave Iraq, with some giving the exception of the Kurdistan Region.
