Qatar Airways Launches Flights to Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

Qatar Airways has launched flights to its fifth destination in the Republic of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah, increasing the airline’s frequency across Iraq from 16 to 20 flights each week.

The new services, which will operate four-times-a-week non-stop from the airline’s Doha hub, brings the carrier’s global network to 129 destinations worldwide.

The Doha – Sulaymaniyah route is being operated by an Airbus A320 featuring 144 seats in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy.

The launch marks the rapid expansion by Qatar Airways in Iraq since the middle of 2012 when it began flights to Erbil, followed by the capital Baghdad, Najaf and Basra.

Sulaymaniyah also marks the carrier’s fifth new Middle Eastern destination launched this year after Basra, Najaf, Gassim in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Salalah in Oman.

“The Republic of Iraq has been on our list of expansion priorities for some time and the last 12 months have seen us move forward very quickly opening up four new gateways in Iraq with a fifth, Sulaymaniyah, starting today,” he said. “Qatar Airways’ commitment is strong as we continue to build on our already strong relationship between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Iraq,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker. “Opening up Iraq to the world with more travel options and flexibility has always been part of our general strategy to enter underserved markets and give the travelling public to and from such places the ability to travel with greater choice, bringing the world closer to them.”

Sulaymaniyah is an important economic and cultural center for Iraq. It is a mountainous province and had been named the cultural capital of Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Due to relative peace in the region it has a more developed economy in comparison to other parts of Iraq.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 129 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.