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Iraqi travel agencies warned on Tuesday that a US ban on Iranian airlines could severely disrupt their business, forcing many to consider hours-long land journeys as an alternative to what have traditionally been short flights between the two countries.
The warning came a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines would "shut down" on September 23, following sanctions Washington imposed earlier this month on all remaining Iranian carriers that had not yet faced such penalties.
Iraq has long been one of the top destinations for Iranian airlines, which ferry Iraqi pilgrims to Iran's holy cities and Iranians to sacred sites in Iraq. While land routes between the two countries exist, they are far slower than air travel and are expected to become the primary option if the ban takes hold.
The Iraqi government has not announced how it will enforce the ban, but several sources, including a senior government official, told AFP that Baghdad is expected to comply. As of Tuesday, flight-tracking data from FlightRadar showed flights still scheduled, with most arrivals and departures concentrated at Najaf airport.
Several travel agencies said they were already weighing a shift to land routes, a change made more pressing by the fact that Iraqi airlines halted flights to Iran at the start of the Middle East war in February. Agents described fielding calls from anxious clients seeking updates, though with no official Iraqi government announcement yet, they said they have little to tell them.
In Najaf, travel agent Haidar Shamaa said most travel companies in the city rely on booking flights to Iranian airports. He and other agents said the switch to land travel would be especially difficult for sick Iraqis seeking medical treatment in Iran and for elderly travelers.
A trip to the holy city of Qom, for instance, would stretch from a flight of only a few hours to a land journey of more than 12 hours from the border, with other major destinations lying even farther away.
Mustafa Majid, who runs another travel agency in Najaf, said he expects significant financial losses, since his company works exclusively with airlines rather than land transport providers. "Our work might halt," he said.
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In Diwaniyah, travel agent Amir Fouadi said his company has already cancelled some trips and replaced others with land travel. "Any change puts us under pressure to find alternative solutions," he said, noting that trips are typically sold as full packages that include accommodation and tour programs, making sudden changes logistically complicated.
A travel agent in Baghdad said his company has stopped booking flights altogether even though it has not received formal notice that the ban is being enforced. "We are no longer booking flights," the agent said.
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