Iraq lifts restrictions on civilian use of western airspace

BAGHDAD, Sept 18 (Reuters) — Iraq said on Friday it had returned restricted airspace in the western part of the country to civilian authorities, ending limits that had been in place for military operations since 2016, the transport ministry said in a statement. The ministry said all previously reserved zones stretching across western Iraq from north to south had been handed over to the authority responsible for airports and air navigation for use by civil aviation. The move is expected to give Iraqi aviation authorities more room to redesign flight routes, ease restrictions on aircraft movement and improve the efficiency of airspace use. The restricted areas had been designated for military operations against Islamic State group in 2016 and 2017, when large parts of Iraq's western desert were used as bases for those operations. "It has been officially confirmed by the airspace management team at the air operations center that the military air zones listed in the Iraqi aeronautical guide are no longer being used for military operations," Ehab Saad Karim, director of the General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management, told a press conference. Karim said the decision follo