Hey, Jack! Which way's Mecca?
Posted on 09/18/2004 3:56:09 AM PDT by naturalman1975
NATIONAL carrier Iraqi Airways launched its first international flight in 14 years today, with a plane taking off from Amman to Baghdad - without passengers.
The airline had been grounded since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent UN sanctions imposed on the former regime of toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
It has only one functioning plane, a Boeing 737.
Airline official Fathi Nassar said the plane left Amman without any passengers because the resumption of flights was announced too late for tickets to be sold.
The 737 made a test flight from Amman to Baghdad on August 23 for the first time since the airline's planes were grounded in Jordan by the UN sanctions.
Iraqi Airways' old fleet is scattered, with several of the aging planes in Amman and Tunis, none of them operational.
Currently, Royal Jordanian flies to Amman from Baghdad's international airport, where commercial aviation has been stymied by the constant threat of missile and rocket attacks by insurgents.
And they're offering, "INfrequent flyer miles.."
Hey, Jack! Which way's Mecca?
At one time, Iraqi Airways was all over the place. I remember seeing one of their 747s on the ground at Santiago de Chile's International Airport in 1987. It was a cargo aircraft and they were in Chile buying up ammo to use against one of the other members of the "Axis of Evil," Iran.
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