By Haydar Karaalp</p> <p>BAGHDAD (AA) – Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines resumed its flights to the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah after the lifting of the ban that was imposed in Sept. 2017.</p> <p>Ali Khalil Ibrahim, an Iraqi civil aviation authority chief, said in a statement on Saturday that Turkish Airlines operated its first flight to the Sulaymaniyah International Airport from Istanbul.</p> <p>Ibrahim stated that Iraqi Airways will hold flights from Sulaymaniyah to Istanbul in upcoming days.</p> <p>On Sept. 29, 2017, Iraq’s central government had imposed a ban on all international flights to and from the Kurdish region.</p> <p>The ban against Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports had come in response to the Sept. 25, 2017 illegitimate referendum on Kurdish regional independence.</p> <p>On Wednesday, Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan said that the ban on flights to Sulaymaniyah would be lifted on Friday.
