Gulf Airlines expands its network in Iraq

Translated by IRAQdirectory.com Gulf Airlines, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has announced that it will expand its network in Iraq to include the cities of Najaf and Erbil. The company will start flights to the city of Najaf in September 26 with four flights a week, rising after that to become one flight per day in October 26, 2009; also, the company will begin flights to the northern city of Arbil in October 26, 2009 with three flights per week, which will then become a daily flight when the time is right. Gulf Airlines will run flights to the city of Najaf in southern Iraq on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, using the model of the Airbus A320; as for its flights to Arbil in northern Ira, it will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday using the Airbus A320 too. Following the successful launch of flights to the Iraqi capital Baghdad last week, Gulf Airlines aims, during the next two months, to become the market leader in operating regular flights to three major cities in Iraq, using its extensive experience and knowledge after working many years in the Iraqi market. Chief Executive of Gulf Airlines, Samir Almajali, said, "We expect that requests to travel to these Iraqi cities will be very large; the city of Najaf is one of the most important religious sites for many Muslims and an Islamic centre where many people come to visit. As for Arbil, it is the capital of Kurdistan region and the most important commercial centre in Iraq. Kurdistan Region has great abilities and large reserves of oil and gas; many giant companies are working in the area after signing contracts for oil exploration and development works with the Kurdistan Regional Government, estimated at more than 35 companies coming from over 20 countries." Almajali confirmed that Kurdistan Regional Government is paying great attention to development, attracting many companies to the region and taking care of the environment; it is also seeking to attract tourists and to invest heavily in its infrastructure to expand the capacity of the tourism sector. Gulf Airlines has developed a schedule of flights to the cities of Najaf and Arbil to be added to the lines of its extensive network in the Middle East, thereby providing excellent communications to many destinations in addition to its flights on major routes in Asia and Europe.