Hot News - Lufthansa news |
| News created: 20. januar 2010 20:35 |
Hot News - Lufthansa news
Lufthansa has become the first major European carrier in 20 years to launch a service to Baghdad.
The German carrier said it was planning to fly to the Iraqi capital and Erbil in the north from Frankfurt and Munich this summer due to high demand and security issues within the country easing.
Boris Ogursky, a spokesman at Lufthansa’s main hub in Frankfurt, said: “The demand goes in both directions.”
He also confirmed a start date of mid-2010 but added that it’s too early to specify a number of flights.
Lufthansa first started flying to Baghdad in 1956 but halted operation in 1990 because of the Gulf War, when U.S.-led forces reversed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq has struggled to exploit its vast crude oil reserves due to civil war.
But, with security apparently improving, the Iraqi government now hopes to triple oil output from 2.4 million barrels a day to 7 million over the next six years, and has awarded oil-exploitation rights to a string of foreign companies in recent months.
Royal Dutch Shell, China National Petroleum Corp., OAO Lukoil and Statoil ASA were among bidders that won seven oil-project service contracts last month.
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