Shafaq News- Basra

Iraqi Airways will launch direct flights between Basra and the Azerbaijani capital Baku starting Wednesday, July 8, with one weekly service, the Ministry of Transportation announced on Tuesday.

The route is aimed at meeting growing travel demand during the summer season and giving passengers from Basra and the surrounding southern provinces direct access to Baku, one of the region's prominent tourism destinations, according to Manaf Abdul Mun'im, director-general of Iraqi Airways.

The Basra-Baku route is one of several new connections Iraqi Airways has opened in recent weeks. Two weekly direct flights between Kirkuk International Airport and the Turkish resort city of Antalya are set to begin July 14, while Kirkuk also launched direct flights to Dubai in June with three weekly services and its first direct flight to Trabzon on June 26.

Read more: Iraq airspace closure costs $43 million during US-Israel war on Iran