Iraq’s UR Airlines adds first B737-300

UR Airlines (UD, Baghdad) has doubled its B737 fleet with the addition of its first B737-300, YI-BAU (msn 25608). The 21.4-year-old ex-Air New Zealand Boeing narrowbody was ferried from maintenance at Amman Marka to Baghdad on February 25, 2021, AirNav RadarBox ADS-B data shows. It subsequently entered into revenue service on March 11, initially on domestic routes to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, but also on international services to Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen and Ankara Esenboga. The aircraft features UR Airlines titles and its Iraqi registration. UR Airlines also operates a single B737-400, YI-AQS (msn 25765), deploying it nearly exclusively between Baghdad and Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen. The Iraqi carrier used to wet-lease a B737-300 from Ukraine’s Jonika Airlines (JO, Kyiv Igor Sikorsky), using the aircraft mostly for services to the European Union, through January 2020. It was forced to suspend the wet-lease and, consequently, its European services, after the Ukrainian authorities imposed a blanket ban on ACMI contracts in Iraq. Contrary to flag carrier Iraqi Airways, UR Airlines is not on the list of airlines banned by the EU. However, it does not have Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation.