On December 6, 2012, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) issued a final rule addressing the prohibition against certain flights within the territory and airspace of Iraq. Effective January 7, 2013, U.S. civil flight operations will be allowed to and from Erbil International Airport (ORER) and Sulaymaniyah International Airport (ORSU) in Northern Iraq. The FAA decided that a full flight prohibition is no longer necessary for these airports. As the risk to aviation safety and security lessens in Iraq, this ruling may prove to be the first step towards completely lifting the prohibition.
The prohibition (SFAR No. 77) was originally established on October 16, 1996 in response to concernsabout the safety and security of U.S. civil flights within the territory and airspace of Iraq. Shortly after the U.S.-led coalition removed Saddam Hussein’s regime from power in early 2003, the FAA amended paragraph 3 of SFAR No. 77. The FAA had anticipated the humanitarian efforts associated with assisting the people of Iraq after the fall of Hussein’s regime and made the amendment in order to clarify the approval process for such flights citing that ultimate approval of operations still came from the FAA. On November 19, 2003 the FAA amended SFAR No. 77 a second time permitting overflights of Iraq above Flight Level (FL) 200 subject to the permission of and in accordance with the conditions set by the authorities in Iraq.
The FAA’s recent evaluations of airports in Iraq found that the Erbil and Sulaymaniyah International Airports have supported non-U.S. air carrier operations for years without incident. These findings prompted the prohibition removal through an amendment to paragraph (b) (formerly paragraph 2) of SFAR No. 77, allowing certain flights from outside Iraq to and from the two Northern Iraq airports.
Prior to any U.S. air carrier commercial operations to either Iraq airport, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) must review the current security situation. As a result, all U.S. air carriers who are required to have a TSA-approved security program under 49 CFR 1544.101 that are planning operations to either Iraq airport must contact TSA before beginning service to obtain the appropriate security approval.
Under the newest amendments to SFAR No. 77, flights to and from points outside Iraq may be operated by persons covered by paragraph (a) (former paragraph 1) of the SFAR within the territory and airspace of Iraq north of the 34o30’ North latitude below FL200 to and from ORER or ORSU. In addition, prior to conducting operations the operator must apply for and obtain a letter of authorization (LOA) or operations specification (OpSpec), as appropriate, from the Director, Flight Standards Service, AFS-1, which will specify the limitations and conditions under which the operation must be conducted.
In this scenario OpSpecs and LOAs will address the risk associated with operating into and out of ORER and ORSU. Generally the operator has to:
· Have a method for gathering current reports and information on airport conditions, navigation aids, weather, and any other factors that may affect the safety of flight including commercially available current threat information. This includes both preflight planning and enroute operations.
· Use specific airways to enter Iraqi airspace.
· Operate in accordance with the Iraq Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).
· Minimize time below FL200 within the amended airspace.
· Not land at airports other than ORER and ORSU, except in an emergency.
· Report any security incident/event to the FAA Washington Operations Center (WOC) via phone at 202-267-3333 or email aeo-citewatch@faa.gov.
· Comply with 14 CFR parts 91, 119, 125, 135 or 121.
For further information or questions regarding the notice of public meeting, contact Ronce Almond at (202) 457-7790.