On Wednesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Transport issued an official statement to clarify the reason for the temporary closure of “Baghdad International Airport,” stressing that the reason is a sudden technical malfunction and is not related to any security matters.
The Ministry’s official spokesman, Maytham Al-Safi, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), saying: “The temporary closure of Baghdad International Airport came as a result of an emergency technical defect, which required immediate precautionary action, in line with the highest approved safety standards.”
Al-Safi added that specialized technical teams immediately began examining and addressing the defect, in accordance with international standard procedures and in accordance with the requirements and standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization, stressing that “the safety factor is given the highest priority as it is the basic pillar of the sustainability and efficiency of air operations.”
He pointed out that “the airport will reopen in the next few hours as soon as maintenance work is completed and final technical checks are conducted.”
Al-Safi “categorically denied” the rumors that spread on some media outlets and websites about the existence of local or international security problems that prevent the reopening of the airport, stressing that “these news are baseless and not based on any approved official source.”
He called on the media and social media users to verify the accuracy of the news before publishing it, and to obtain information from reliable official sources, especially the Ministry’s Media Office and its affiliated bodies, in order to reduce the spread of rumors that may cause confusion to the public and negatively affect travel.
