Iraq slams Kuwait for attempting to confiscate Iraqi Airways plane after landing in London
By APThursday, April 29, 2010
Iraq slams Kuwait for interfering with its airline
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Transportation has accused Kuwait of interfering with its fledgling airline service to London.
The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that lawyers working for Kuwait tried to seize the Iraqi Airways plane after it had made its maiden flight to London last week.
The statement says that after that failed, British authorities at the lawyers’ behest confiscated travel documents of the head of Iraqi Airways, preventing him from leaving London.
Kuwait is demanding reparations of $1.2 billion from the Iraqi carrier, dating back to Iraq’s 1990 invasion and the alleged theft of 10 airplanes and millions of dollars worth of spare parts.
The Iraqi Airlines flight to London on Sunday was first in 20 years.
