Fly Baghdad blacklisting puts pressure on Iraqi civil aviation regulator

Iraqi operator Fly Baghdad has been banned from operating within European Union airspace over a series of safety concerns, particularly regarding crew fatigue management. Fly Baghdad operates around a dozen aircraft – primarily Boeing 737 variants including -800s and -900ERs – on services within the Middle East, eastern Mediterranean, and the Indian subcontinent. It had attempted to secure third-country operator’s authorisation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in February last year, a requirement for serving EU destinations. But EASA, while examining the airline’s operation, determined that it did not ensure that flight times, crew duty periods and crew rest periods were within limitations established by Iraqi regulations. The EC, which has newly included Fly Baghdad to its airline blacklist, says the carrier’s “inability to address these safety concerns” was demonstrated by its submission of an “unacceptable corrective action plan” to deal with the identified problems. “Fly Baghdad did not demonstrate compliance with applicable international safety standards,” it adds. EASA subsequently rejected Fly Baghdad’s application for third-country authorisation last December. Although Fly Baghdad appealed this refusal, EASA upheld the rejection in September 2023, ruling that the appeal was “unfounded”, the Commission states.<br/>