Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa, will expand further in the Middle East, beginning with new routes to Iraq.  Last year the airline flew 55.6m passenger in total, a 2.6 percent decrease.  Figures dropped in all global markets except for the Middle East and Africa.  Last month Lufthansa flew 363,000 passengers in the Middle East and Africa; sales in the region increased 9.1 percent and the load factor increased to 75.1 percent. 

The German carrier plans to start servicing routes to Baghdad and Erbil in Northern Iraq, from Frankfurt and Munich this summer. Lufthansa began service to Baghdad  in 1956 but discontinued the routes in 1990 after the Gulf War began.  The carrier said in a statement, “With the resumption of flights to Iraq, Lufthansa is pursuing its policy of expanding its route network in the Middle East, which it presently serves with 88 flights per week to 14 destinations in eleven countries.”