Iraqi Airways is London bound following settlement

The first flight between London’s Gatwick Airport to Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah will leave the English airport at 22:00 on March 5.

An attempt to restart the service in 2010 was thwarted due to the $1.2 Billion lawsuit by Kuwait Airways. A chartered aircraft used for a route launch resulted in Iraqi Airways chief Kifah Hassan being detained by the British authorities and the aircraft temporarily impounded,

That lawsuit – the longest in legal history – has now been settled and Iraqi Airways will use newly purchased Airbus A330, A321 and A320

planes to operate two direct flights to Baghdad and one to Sulaymaniyah

every week.

The frequency will increase to six flights a week by mid June. All return flights will stop 1hr in Malmo, Sweden, for security checks before entering the UK.

The routes have been approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.