regular flights to Iraq, a move that will make it easier for Christian aid workers and others to reach the area.
It came as Al Qaeda in Iraq said Saturday, January 14, it was behind the downing of a US military helicopter in Mosul in Kurdish controlled northern Iraq, the same region where Austrian Airlines plans operations. Both pilots were killed in the attack.
Austrian Airlines wants to land and take off twice a week in Irbil, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Mosul, Executive Vice President Corporate Communications, Johannes Davoras, told BosNewsLife.
Operations are due to start March 9th, and will be increased to three flights per week in April. Although a round-trip economy class ticket will start at nearly $1,200, Davoras believes there will be no shortage of passengers, especially from North America and Europe.
GROWING CITY
"Irbil is a quit fast growing city. At the moment, it has around one-million inhabitants. The UN, as far as we know, is seeking to set up a local headquarters there for Iraq. And there are some corporations that start economic ties with this region," he said.
It was also expected to make it easier for Christian aid workers, missionaries and church leaders to return to at least some parts of Iraq. Most foreign Christian organizations withdrew Western staff members amid concern over kidnappings and suicide attacks.
Despite Saturday’s news of violence, there have been relatively few insurgent attacks in what is also known as Kurdistan, compared to other parts of the country, said Davoras.
COMPANY INVESTIGATION
He stressed his company investigated the safety aspects of flying to Iraq. It concluded that the northern Kurdish region seems to be relatively safe for foreigners.
"As far as we are aware [violent incidents are] more in the backward regions. In the past there were no incidents in this northern region, and that is why it came in our focus also," Davoras explained.
Yet, security concerns are among the reasons why Austrian will not fly to the capital, Baghdad, for now, although Davoras stressed this could change in the near future.
He said Austrian Airlines has experience with flying to crisis regions. It was the first European airline to start services to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Pristina in Kosovo soon after fighting ended in those regions of the former Yugoslavia. The partly state-owned airlines will fly to Iraq using a middle range Airbus A319 aircraft, which can carry about 130 passengers.
