The Jordanian Royal Wings company, the only commercial airline to transport civilians to Iraq, has cancelled its flights to and from Baghdad after a cargo plane was reportedly hit by a missile there on Saturday morning.
The company will decide on Tuesday whether or not to resume service to Iraq, according to an AFP report.
The DHL cargo plane was reportedly hit on its left wing by a SAM-7 missile; there were no injuries, but the plane performed an emergency landing.
This is the first time that a civilian plane has been hit, although there have been several attempts made since the war ended in May; news sources claim up to 12.
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Royal Wings, a subsidiary of the Amman-based Royal Jordanian airlines, began flying to Iraq three times a week in August and has since upped the frequency to daily flights.
Both Royal Jordanian airlines and Royal Wings did not respond to The Media Line’s (TML) request for comment.
DHL did not confirm that its carrier had been hit by a missile, but has suspended its operations in Iraq until Monday. At that point, DHL representatives will meet with security advisers in Iraq to determine a course of action, said Patricia Thomson, DHL company spokesperson.
Following the emergency landing on Saturday evening, an investigation into the causes of the “problem on the left wing” was undertaken, Thomson told TML in a telephone interview from Belgium.
The Brussels-based, international transport company was the first commercial airline to obtain authorization from coalition forces to service Baghdad in July. Thomson said that up to six flights a day have been departing and arriving at Baghdad International Airport since then.
The commercial airline carries “all kinds of cargo,” according to Thomson, including “military supplies” and food for U.S. forces, as well as documents for other organizations and humanitarian aid materials.