Kurdistan Region Transport Minister Rejects Baghdad's Deadline for Airport Control Transfer

One day after Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, gave the authorities of the Kurdistan Region 72 hours to transfer control of the region's airport to the central government of Iraq, the Minister of Transport of the Kurdistan Region rejected this request. According to the Rudaw news agency, Mawlood Murad, the Minister of Transport of the Kurdistan Regional Government, stated on Wednesday, October 5, that "the airports of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah are part of Kurdistan's assets and will continue to operate." He described Baghdad's request to hand over control of these airports as "incorrect and inappropriate" and said that fulfilling this request would have a "negative impact on the people." Mawlood Murad further stated that the airports of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah are currently under the jurisdiction of Iraq's Civil Aviation Organization, which has representatives and managers at these two airports. The two airports in the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are operational and typically receive flights from countries such as Germany, Jordan, and Turkey. Meanwhile, Talal Faik, the director-general of Erbil International Airport, also stated that Baghdad's request to hand over these airports is "illegal" and added that "the Iraqi Civil Aviation Organization is not performing its duties properly." Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, explained his three-day deadline during a press conference on Tuesday, October 4, stating that his government would ban all international flights to and from the Kurdistan Region during these three days to bring the airports in the Kurdistan Region under the control of the central government. The Prime Minister of Iraq added on state television that emergency and humanitarian flights would be exempt from this rule, provided they receive prior approval from Baghdad. He also stated that if control of the Kurdistan Region's airports is not handed over, Baghdad would ask neighboring countries to close their borders with the region and would announce a ban on international flights over Kurdistan starting Friday. Following this request, airlines from Lebanon and Egypt announced that they would suspend their flights to the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah starting Friday. Iran also announced before the referendum that it had closed its airspace with the Kurdistan Region at the request of the Iraqi government. The Prime Minister of Iraq, speaking one day after the Kurdistan independence referendum, again rejected any negotiations based on the referendum results in the region. Meanwhile, Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, urged Haider al-Abadi to refrain from threatening the region and not to close the door to negotiations. Voting for the independence of the Kurdistan Region from Iraq began on Monday, October 3, at 8 AM, and reports indicate that a majority of eligible voters supported separation. In this context, 210 members of parliament condemned the Kurdistan referendum. Erdogan told Iraqi Kurds: "Waving the Israeli flag will not save you."