Etihad launches flights to Baghdad from Abu Dhabi, plans Irbil routes in northern Iraq

UAE airline Etihad starts Iraq flights

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Etihad Airways says it has launched regular flights to Baghdad with the first plane taking off for the Iraqi capital on Tuesday.

The United Arab Emirates carrier is one of a growing number of airlines betting Iraq’s fragile security gains will lead to an uptick in travel.

In a statement released Tuesday, Etihad said it will fly five return flights a week to the Iraqi capital using Airbus A320s.

Airlines are slowly returning to war-ravaged Iraq. German airline Lufthansa said in January it is planning to resume flights this summer.

Etihad expects to expand the flights to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on June 1 as security improves and business picks up after years of bloodshed.

The Emirati carrier’s launch comes just days after Iraqi Airways resumed regular service to London, via Malmo, Sweden, on Saturday. It was the first Baghdad-to-London flight by Iraqi Airways in more than 20 years.