Iraqi Airways to include Airbus A220 in its fleet
The first Airbus A220-300 Iraqi Airways received. Photo: Airbus corporation
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – An Iraqi Airways official revealed on Saturday that the Airbus A220 will come into service within a few days, and will operate in flights to Europe and North Africa, Rudaw News reported.
The Director of Modern Aircraft Projects in the Iraqi Airways, Farazdaq Adnan, explained that the Airbus A220 will save the Iraqi government a lot of money as its fuel consumption rate is low compared to similar airplanes.
Regarding the features of the Airbus A220, Adnan elaborated that it is one of the most modern airplanes, and it is manufactured in Airbus factories in Canada, Rudaw News mentioned.
“The plane has a capacity of 132 seats, 12 for first class and 120 for economy class, and it is equipped with a wireless entertainment system, where the traveler can watch movies and listen to music on his cellphone or tablet,” Adnan stated.
With respect to the operation date, Adnan said that Iraqi Airways is only waiting for some administrative procedures to be completed, adding that it will take a few days.
Adnan clarified that Iraqi pilots are ready to fly the plane after they were trained in Montreal, Canada, and in Germany.
The third Airbus A220 arrived in Baghdad International Airport on Saturday to join the Iraqi Airways fleet. Two more airplanes of the same type are scheduled to arrive in the coming period.
In February 2022, the Iraqi Ministry of Transport announced the arrival of the second Airbus A220 to Baghdad International Airport, while Iraq received the first plane of the same model in October 2021.
Airbus corporation announced in January 2022 that Iraqi Airways has taken delivery of its first out of five A220-300 aircraft from Mirabel, Canada.
Upon entry into service, Iraqi Airways will become one of the first airlines to operate the A220 in the Middle East region, Airbus corporation mentioned.
Featuring a 50 percent reduced noise footprint and up to 25 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, as well as around 50 percent lower NOx emissions than industry standards, the A220 is a great aircraft for regional as well as long distance routes operations, Airbus corporation elaborated.
With the A220, Iraqi Airways will benefit from the aircraft’s exceptional technical, economic and environmental performance, Airbus corporation added.