For Austrian Airlines, the highest priority at all times is the safety of the passengers and employees of the company. Additional improvements for more security have been implemented during the last months together with the local authorities. Having conducted a detailed examination of conditions in Iraq, and based on the security situation as it stands at present, Austrian Airlines will resume flights to Erbil from 2 April 2008 onwards. The situation in the region is still being continuously monitored in cooperation with the security authorities, enabling the company to act without delay in the event of any irregularities or changes in the situation.
Three flights a week (on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) are planned for April and May and four a week (including Sunday) from June onwards. As a result, a direct service to Erbil will be reincorporated into the Austrian route network, opening up numerous new connecting flights for passengers.
Austrian Airlines was the first European airline to receive landing rights in Iraq. The route to Erbil, which was opened up on 11 December 2006, developed extremely positively. Due to the strong demand at the time, it proved possible to expand the service from two connections a week at first to four connections a week. The flights had to be temporarily removed from the schedule from 24 August 2007 onwards following a reevaluation of the security situation.
| Mon, Wed, Fri |
OS829 dep. Vienna 10:20 h |
arr. Erbil 16:05 h |
| Mon, Wed, Fri |
OS830 dep. Erbil 15:55 h |
arr. Vienna 19:00 h |