ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Baghdad International Airport reopened on Monday following an eight-hour suspension of air traffic caused by poor weather and low visibility, which delayed over a dozen flights, a transportation ministry official said.
The airport was closed from shortly after midnight until the morning due to dense fog, according to Maysam Safi, spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation, who spoke to Rudaw on Monday.
“Flights have now returned to normal,” Safi said.
The suspension lasted from 2am to 10am, Ahmed Wahid, director of relations and media at the Iraqi Airports Directorate, told Rudaw, adding that 15 flights were affected, including two bound for Erbil and Sulaimani.
“Two of those flights were to Erbil and Sulaimani airports," Wahid said, detailing that operations have since resumed.
"The delayed flights are being rescheduled in sequence,” he said, adding the closure did not affect Basra or Mosul airports.
Earlier this month, airports in Baghdad, Najaf, and Sulaimani temporarily suspended flights due to severe weather, as Iraq and the Kurdistan Region were hit by torrential rainfall that triggered flash floods in several areas.
The flooding caused multiple deaths and extensive damage to businesses and civilian property, with Sulaimani’s Chamchamal district and Kirkuk province among the hardest-hit areas.