Iraq says British court lets Iraqi airline chief leave despite airplanes dispute with Kuwait

Court lets Iraqi airline chief leave Britain

BAGHDAD — The head of Iraqi Airways can now leave Britain after being held there for more than a week over a two-decade-old dispute with Kuwait, Iraq’s Transportation Ministry said Thursday.

A British court announced the airline chief, Kifah Jabar Hassan, had his passport returned and was now free to leave Britain, the ministry said.

When Iraq Airways first flight to London in 20 years landed last month, lawyers representing Kuwait Airways served a court order requiring the Iraqis to pay $1.2 billion for dispute dating to the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

The order called for the freezing of Iraqi Airways’ assets, and required the carrier’s head to stay in order to provide a statement of those assets.

According to the ministry, the lawyers also attempted to confiscate the airplane that made the maiden flight to London, but were unable to do so when it turned out it was chartered from a Swedish company and not owned by Iraqi Airways.

Kuwait is demanding the $1.2 billion reparations from Iraqi Airways for the alleged theft of 10 airplanes and millions of dollars worth of spare parts during the invasion and the seven-month occupation.

The Transportation Ministry says Iraq has repeatedly called for talks over the case so it could be solved in a “friendly way,” but the Kuwaitis have not responded.

The case is still being played out in Britain and has been described as the longest running commercial case in the history of British courts.

Kuwait has repeatedly attempted to seize airplanes purchased by Iraq as compensation, as it did in 2008, when it secured a court order to take 10 planes ordered by Iraqi Airways from Canada’s Bombardier. The case is under appeal.