First commercial passenger service between Kuwait and Iraq in over 22 years
Najaf, IRAQ - April 17, 2012 -- Award winning Jazeera Airways Group today launched non-stop flights between Kuwait and the Iraqi city of Najaf with a frequency of two flights a week, making it the first airline to introduce scheduled passenger flights between Kuwait and an Iraqi city in over 22 years.
The new route was a result of the successful bilateral discussions between the governments of Kuwait and Iraq over the last few months, particularly the official visit by H.H. The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah to the Arab Summit in Baghdad earlier this month, and an official visit by H.E. the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to Kuwait last month.
To commemorate the launch, the airline held a reception event at Najaf Al Ashraf International Airport that was attended by HE the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Iraq Mr. Ali Al Moumen, HE the Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait Mr. Mohammad Bahr al-Ulum, senior members from Kuwait's Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), Jazeera Airways Chairman Mr. Marwan Boodai, and press from Kuwait and Iraq.
Jazeera Airways Group Chairman Marwan Boodai said: "The launch of flights to Najaf is both a milestone for Jazeera Airways and an important development for the transport sector between the two countries. We thank the Kuwaiti Government and Kuwait's DGCA for their support over the last few months, and we thank our Iraqi partners for being gracious hosts."
The airline operates business and economy class routes across the Middle East including Dubai, Beirut, Alexandria, Sharm El Sheikh, Jeddah, Bahrain, and other high-demand destinations.
Jazeera Airways operates one of the youngest Airbus A320 fleets in the Middle East and the company was recently granted IOSA certification for operation and safety excellence by IATA.
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About Jazeera Airways Group:
Established in 2005, Jazeera Airways Group is a Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed company with over 12,000 shareholders. The company has 12 fully-owned Airbus A320s in operation, distributed between its airline business, Jazeera Airways (six aircraft), and its fully-owned leasing business, Sahaab Aircraft Leasing (five aircraft). Sahaab has assets placed with Virgin America, SriLankan Airlines, and Jazeera Airways.
To date, the airline has flown over 8.8 million passengers since commencing operations in October 2005. In 2011, the airline carried 1.2 million passengers across its network that includes today high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh and Cairo.
Jazeera Airways is an IATA member airline and operates one of the youngest Airbus A320 fleet in the Middle East.
For more information: jazeeraairways.com.
Reporters may contact: Fawaz Al-Sirri + 965 (6) 6622448 / fawaz@bensirri.com
© Press Release 2012
