Iraq will suspend all foreign flights to and from airports operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) starting Friday, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (IraqCAA) said Wednesday.

The statement comes after the KRG refused to surrender authority of airports to the central government in Baghdad.

In a statement, the civil aviation authority said that all international flights to and from Irbil and Sulaymaniyah airports will be suspended.

“IraqCAA would like to draw your attention for the following, starting from Sep 29. 2017 at 1500 UTC, 1800 LT all flight operations to and from Irbil and Sulaymaniah airports are suspended except for Iraqi carriers for internal flights only (domestic flights) and until further notice,” the statement said.

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced that it will suspend flights to and from Irbil airport in northern Iraq from Friday, MEA Chairman Mohammad al-Hout told Reuters by phone.

“For now, we’re stopping. The last flight is on the 29th, until they solve the issue,” he added.

Source: Reuters