India- Iraq direct air links resume tomorrow after a gap of 21 years. Iraqi Airways will start its flights on Baghdad to Mumbai air route from Friday. The flight will be operated on Baghdad-Najaf-Mumbai route twice a week to begin with. The flights would be operated every Friday and Monday, taking off from Baghdad to the Iraqi holy city of Najaf and onward to Mumbai.

Talking to AIR, India’s Ambassador to Iraq, Suresh K Reddy said, the move is a reflection of warming up of ties between India and Iraq. The number of Iraqis travelling to India has grown up over the years. Indian embassy in Baghdad issued an average of 200 visas a day to Iraqis wanting to go to India for medical, professional or educational reasons. Air links between the two cities were cut in 1991 following international sanctions against Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded Kuwait in August 1990.