(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) ANKARA, Sept 27 (KUNA) -- Turkey said on Wednesday that it would suspend flights to Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq as of Friday.
The Iraqi Consul General in Irbil said Iraq's Civil Aviation Authority had announced the suspension of flights to and from Irbil, the administrative capital of northern Iraq's Kurdish region, as well as Sulaymaniyah as of September 29, according to a statement relayed by the Anadolu news agency reported.
"In this case, it will not be possible for Turkish Airlines, AtlasGlobal, or Pegasus [airlines] to carry out mutual flights from our country to Irbil or Sulaymaniyah" starting from Friday, the statement read.
Earlier Wednesday, Turkish Airlines said it had no plans to suspend flights to northern Iraq.
It added that scheduled flights to Irbil and Sulaymaniyah would continue despite the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority saying international flights would be suspended.
In a message on its website, budget airline Pegasus said it was in talks with Turkey's General Directorate of Civil Aviation over flights to the two northern Iraqi cities.
Baghdad on Tuesday asked all airlines flying to Irbil and Sulaymaniyah to halt flights to both starting Friday, after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) refused to hand the two airports over to Baghdad after the independence referendum the region held on Monday. (end) rs.msa
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