MEA Cancels Tuesday's Flights to and from Baghdad after Shooting
Middle East Airlines joined on Tuesday other carriers in the region to cancel flights to Baghdad after a plane from Dubai came under fire as it landed in the Iraqi capital a day earlier.
A short statement said MEA canceled the flights to and from the Iraqi capital for Tuesday given the circumstances at Baghdad International Airport.
MEA had only one scheduled flight to Baghdad at noon and another flight from there to Beirut in the afternoon.
MEA chief executive officer Mohammad al-Hout told Agence France Presse that flights to other Iraqi cities were continuing as normal.
"As far as tomorrow's (flight) is concerned, we are waiting to assess the situation and see what steps are going to be taken before deciding," he said.
MEA's statement came after Dubai government-backed discount carrier FlyDubai confirmed that it was the airline involved in the shooting on Monday night.
It said small-arms fire damaged the plane's fuselage and that no passengers needed medical attention at the airport.
It canceled its only flight to Baghdad on Tuesday.
Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways separately said they are suspending flights to Iraq until further notice.
Budget carrier Air Arabia, based in the emirate of Sharjah, near Dubai, also confirmed it was suspending flights.
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the island kingdom of Bahrain, followed suit.
It was unclear who was behind the shooting on Monday and whether the FlyDubai plane was deliberately targeted.
Baghdad International Airport is surrounded by a vast and heavily guarded security perimeter lined with concrete blast walls, making it difficult for insurgents to fire on incoming planes.
G.K.
H.K.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/164934 |