🔻AFP report on travel companies’ concerns in Iraq following the ban on Iranian air flights

Agence France-Presse, in a report, said that several travel agencies in Iraq have stated that a ban on Iranian airlines’ flights by the United States could severely disrupt their business and force them to consider other options such as land routes to Iran.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary, yesterday, announced that Iranian airline operations would be halted on September 23; the move came after the United States earlier this month imposed sanctions on “all remaining Iranian airlines” that had previously not been subject to sanctions.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced a plan to implement this ban, but several sources, including a senior government official, told Agence France-Presse that Baghdad will carry it out.

Despite land routes, Iraq remains one of the main destinations for Iranian airlines, which primarily transport Iraqi pilgrims to Iran’s holy cities or Iranian citizens to religious sites in Iraq.

Several travel agencies told Agence France-Presse that they are reviewing plans to change travel routes over land.

They also said that worried customers are calling to get information, but since no official notice has been issued yet, the agencies have little to offer in terms of answers.