Iraq extends ban on international flights to Kurdistan airports

BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iraq has extended ban of international flights imposed earlier on airports of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan for three months, a Kurdish media said on Monday.

The Iraqi federal authorities extended the suspension of international flights to and from the Kurdish airports to May 31, as the ban was supposed to expire on Wednesday, the Kurdish Rudaw media net quoted Talar Faiq, head of Erbil International Airport, as saying.

The ban on international flights on the region's international airports of Erbil and Sulaiymaniyah forced passengers to apply for an Iraqi visa to transit through Baghdad and Basra international airports to go or leave the Kurdish region.

Omid Mohammed, Minister of Transportation of the Kurdish region, told Rudaw that his regional government "did not expect the Iraqi authorities to extend the ban on international flights."

In late September, the Iraqi federal government adopted the ban decision on the Kurdish region as part of a package of punitive measures that also included blocking all the border crossings which are outside the control of the federal authorities.

Tensions have been running high between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan after the Kurds held a controversial referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region and the disputed areas on Sept. 25.

Baghdad government repeatedly expressed its stance that the Kurdish region must recognize Iraq's national sovereignty and abides by preserving its unity.

The independence of Kurdistan is opposed not only by the Iraqi central government, but also by other countries as it would threaten the integrity of Iraq and undermine the fight against IS militants.

Iraq's neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Iran and Syria, fear that the Iraqi Kurds' pursuit of independence threatens their territorial integrity, as large Kurdish populations live in those countries. Enditem