Flying Belgian From Belgium, joined Jun 2001, 1978 posts, RR: 18 Posted (6 years 11 months 23 hours ago) and read 2041 times:
I was wondering which foreign airlines did use to fly to Baghdad just before Kuwait's invasion in Aug.1990.
If you could mention the aircraft type it'd be great !!!
Many thanks because I was too young when all this happened !!
Johnnybgoode From Germany, joined Jan 2001, 2187 posts, RR: 8 Reply 3, posted (6 years 11 months 22 hours ago) and read 1977 times:
in the mid to late 80s, LH operated services to Baghdad. they operated DC-10s via IST a couple of times a week.
don´t know if that routing was the case for most of the time, but it was at least during one schedule period.
unfortunately, i don´t find my old LH schedules anymore, so that i could provide you more detailed info.
cheers
daniel
If only pure sweetness was offered, why's this bitter taste left in my mouth.
Swissgabe From Switzerland, joined Jan 2000, 5187 posts, RR: 44 Reply 7, posted (6 years 10 months 4 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 1728 times:
Swissair had a few weekly flights to Baghdad up to the invasion of Kuwait and they had to stop the route. If I'm not mistaken the flight continued to other points in Far East and the last flights have been operated with Dc10's.
Smooth as silk - Royal Orchid Service /// Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens - Springbok
ARN From Sweden, joined Feb 2001, 208 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (6 years 10 months 4 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 1720 times:
In the beginning of the 80s SAS had two flights a week. Both served witb DC8-equipment. One orginating in Copenhagen and one in Stockholm (with a stop in CPH).
Both flights stopped in Amman on route to Baghdad. During the 80s SAS terminated Baghdad along with Amman, Damascus, Nairobi, Tehran, Dar es Salaam, Karachi, Manila and several other destinations.
Those were the days
In addition Iraqi Airways operated to dense network of flights to Europe and the Middle East. Its 747's even flew to far flung places like Tokyo and Rio.
From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California
Coronado From United States, joined Jun 1999, 632 posts, RR: 3 Reply 10, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 1521 times:
In 1984 when the US was supporting the Iraqi government in its war with Iran, I was selling US produced frozen chickens and frozen beef to Iraq. I had to go to Iraq to have meetings with the Food Import Bureacracy in Iraq.
I flew Korean Air from Bahrain, where I had been waiting for the Iraqi entry visa, to Baghdad, The inbound Korean 747 --I was in coach because it was the first space available flight I could get from Bahrein to Iraq --this was a few hours after I picked up my entry visa from the Iraqi embassy in Bahrein-- was chock full of Korean construction workers. I smiled to them and they smiled to me and we had a few toasts!
A few days later I flew out from Baghdad on the Iraqi Airways 747SP to Frankfurt (with stop in Istanbul)--I recall it was about 8 hours late, so I had missed any conecting flights going to IAD, but within 5 minutes I saw a LH being buttoned up for Boston, and they must have sensed that I really wanted to get home, because they accomodated me in First although I only had a business fare.
So Korean Air definitely served Iraq at least in 1984!
The Original Coronado: First CV jet flights RG CV 990 July 1965; DL CV 880 July 1965; Spantax CV990 Feb 1973
AZFAN From United States, joined Jun 2002, 34 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 1417 times:
On italian station RAI during the news broadcast yesterday they showed a ALitalia 767 landing at Saddam International Airport, It was part of some humanitarian misson.
Ljungdahl From Sweden, joined Apr 2002, 871 posts, RR: 51 Reply 14, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 1402 times:
Coronado - how very interesting that you had opportunity to fly with the Iraq 747SP, as all available information that I've found about this a/c, is that it has always been operated for Iraq government, painted in Iraqi Airways c/s, but with the titles reading only "Iraq".
Was this a/c in standard passenger config, or all-VIP config when you flew it?
Johan (Ljungdahl)
...a life without Aviation, Photography, Beer & Women? Hardly worth livin'...
Coronado From United States, joined Jun 1999, 632 posts, RR: 3 Reply 15, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 1367 times:
I am quite certain they had a second SP in 1983-1984 as I saw one configured as a Freighter in Iraqi Airways markings loading crates of something or other at Santiago Chile, and it was definitely a different one from the one I flew in.
The Original Coronado: First CV jet flights RG CV 990 July 1965; DL CV 880 July 1965; Spantax CV990 Feb 1973
Coronado From United States, joined Jun 1999, 632 posts, RR: 3 Reply 18, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 1343 times:
Do you think they may have had a short term lease form the PA fleet as a result of the US tacit support in the Iraq war against Iran?
On the other hand it may have been the same plane but seen a year apart. The '84 version had pretty conventional Iraqi Airways markings based on pix I have seen, the one I saw perhaps 9-10 months earlier in SCL had less green.
The Original Coronado: First CV jet flights RG CV 990 July 1965; DL CV 880 July 1965; Spantax CV990 Feb 1973
Coronado From United States, joined Jun 1999, 632 posts, RR: 3 Reply 19, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 1312 times:
Johan --
After looking at several of your great pictures, maybe the one I saw in SCL was the 747-200, but I don;t recall it as having as much dark green as the SP in 1984. It was quite a way aways from my vantage point so perhaps I was getting reflection.
Chile was providing quite a bit of munitions during that time frame!
I am however absolutely certain I was on an SP on the Baghdad-Istanbul-Frankfurt run that was 8 hours late, as at FRA it parked a 2-3 gates down from the LH 747-200 I hopped to Boston, and the lenght difference was very apparent compared to the other full size 747's.
Inside the cabin the length difference was obvious.
I had been on a Panam SP 3 or years before that on a JFK-EZE routing and so have kept an eye out for them.
The Original Coronado: First CV jet flights RG CV 990 July 1965; DL CV 880 July 1965; Spantax CV990 Feb 1973
Ljungdahl From Sweden, joined Apr 2002, 871 posts, RR: 51 Reply 20, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 1305 times:
Coronado - I really hope that you can excuse me - but I have big problems to believe your story.
The Iraq B747SP-70 - YI-ALM - was solely operated for Iraq government (Saddam himself...) since it's delivery in 1982.
I've never seen a photo, nor read a report about that Iraqi Airways should ever have leased another B747SP.
And - as far as I know - there have never been a Cargo B747SP, just show me one single photo of a B747SP with a SCD - it does not exist!
Prove your statements, because I suspect that you might have seen an Iraqi B747 at SCL loading through a SCD, but that was one of their own B747-270C(SCD)'s that they had; YI-AGN, YI-AGO or YI-AGP.
You do know the difference between a B747-200 and a B747SP?
I don't mean to sound harsh, but something is wrong with your story.
Johan (Ljungdahl)
...a life without Aviation, Photography, Beer & Women? Hardly worth livin'...
Coronado From United States, joined Jun 1999, 632 posts, RR: 3 Reply 22, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 16 hours ago) and read 1280 times:
it has been a long time but I do recall that on the flight from Baghdad to FRA via Istanbul the front of the airplane was sealed off with some tough looking individuals in semi military gear obviously standing guard and ensuring no one looked into the front. If you say the SP was the official plane I will take your word for it but I certainly did not get indication that I was on a VIP flight--the area I was in had just ordinary seating--Maybe about 100 pax in the area I could see.
Baghad airport had three major security check points. Cars had to drop of pax about 100 yards from the terminal and you would immediately go through full security and you would walk across an empty paved area (at one time a parking lot) and then walk to the terminal. A second security check point was at the entrance of the terminal building. Check ins took place normally there. Then to the waiting loung for a very long wait, with periodic announcements of further delays. A third security check point was on the approach into the beginning of the jet way. I was conscious of trying not to stare too much as I definitely felt that appearing to be looking around too much could cause another interview by some of the watchers.
Regarding Santiago, I do remember asking the cab driver on seeing this strange looking aircraft parked about as far away fromthe terminal as could be and he was the one who said Iraqi--and then it looked right. I am not sure why all these years I assumed it was an SP but after looking at your pix it is obvious it was a -200 SCD. There were a lot of sizeable wood crates on the tarmac near it.
The Original Coronado: First CV jet flights RG CV 990 July 1965; DL CV 880 July 1965; Spantax CV990 Feb 1973
S.p.a.s. From Liechtenstein, joined Mar 2001, 903 posts, RR: 4 Reply 24, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 1231 times:
Not only 747s but also 707s were regulars to GIG (rio de janeiro).. I went down there once, late 80s, just ti try to get a photo of the 747..but it was 4 DAYS late Guess delays were common with Iraqi Aws.
Brazil had a quite good ground-to-ground missiles industry back then, and histories about Iraqi's IL76 loading under the cover of night and without titles are not hard to hear from older airport people... nice tales
Airsicknessbag From Germany, joined Aug 2000, 4726 posts, RR: 50 Reply 25, posted (6 years 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 1135 times:
I´m having a look at some of my old LH timetables:
In the summer 83, there was a twice weekly A300 flight, via ATH on the return.
But, more interesting for you, the timetable July through October 90, i.e. exactly covering the time of the invasion shows the following: a twice weekly (three class) A310, nonstop FRA-SDA. This flight is still shown in the following timetable (effective Oct 28), albeit as "temporarily suspended".
Daniel
26 Fly707: I hope that all traffic return to Iraq again . Baghdad was an important station for a lot of international airlines .
27 Acidradio: Yeah I can't wait for the day when Iraqi Airways rejoins the Star Alliance
28 Backfire: Flying Belgian... ...I'm sure you'd be interested to know that Sabena operated to Baghdad via Beirut in the late 1970s. I flew there from Brussels on
29 Soupthansa: This is totally off the subject but Iraq actually sent a contestant to the 1972 Miss Universe Pageant. Miss Australia won!
30 Airmale: Im surprised PIA is not listed in the OAG flight schedule for Baghdad in 1989, perhaps they never resumed operations there after the Iran-Iraq war, th
31 ContinentalEWR: Doesn't AA still fly the ORD-Baghdad route, although I heard it was downgraded to a 767-300ER in two class configuration, due to slow demand. In summe
32 Flying Belgian: @CONTINENTALEWR: Supposed to be funny ???
33 Sabena 690: ...I'm sure you'd be interested to know that Sabena operated to Baghdad via Beirut in the late 1970s. I flew there from Brussels on that route in '78.
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Guess delays were common with Iraqi Aws.
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