Atlasjet cannot make Iraq flights

Turkish private airline company Atlasjet has said it has been unable to make its Iraq flights since Jan. 1 due to several reasons outside of the company, although its planes are ready to operate.

"Although our planes are operationally ready to fly, we have not been able to make our Iraq flights due to several reasons outside of the company since Jan. 1. Until normal conditions are met, all passengers with tickets to Arbil and Sulaymaniyah will be refunded without any charges as of today," said the company last weekend by a written statement.

No reasons for the flight cancelations were defined in the statement.

Heads of the company went to Baghdad to discuss the situation with Iraqi authorities, as reported by daily Hürriyet.

The privately owned Atlasjet started regular flights between Istanbul and Arbil in 2008, according to the data on the company website.