ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Region Presidency on Thursday announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to lift the flight ban placed on Sulaimani International Airport for over two and a half years.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday arrived in Turkey’s Ankara, holding several high-profile meetings including one with Erdogan.

“Among the many topics discussed today was the Turkish flight ban on Sulaimani,” wrote Niyaz Barzani, foreign affairs advisor to the Kurdistan Region President, in a post on X.

“At President Nechirvan Barzani’s request, President Erdoğan agreed to lift the ban — a welcome step toward facilitating travel and strengthening ties,” he added.

The announcement was also confirmed by Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency on their Sorani Kurdish account on X.

The lifting of the restrictions comes only days after the airport announced that Turkey had extended the ban until January.

“As the flag carrier, we continue to proudly represent Turkey in the skies around the world. In line with this vision, we are thrilled to soon reunite our Sulaimani route with the skies once again,” said Yahya Ustun, senior vice president of communications for Turkish Airlines.

“With our Sulaimani flights, which will operate regularly seven days a week, we aim to contribute to further strengthening the commercial, cultural, and touristic ties between Iraq and Turkey,” he added.

The initial flight ban was imposed in April 2023, with Ankara citing increased activities of the now-dissolved Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the region as the reason.

Local officials in Sulaimani, including Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Qubad Talabani, have repeatedly called on Ankara to lift the bans, but their requests had gone unanswered.

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani has said multiple times that resolving issues with Ankara is not easy.

The PKK declared an end to its armed campaign in May—a conflict that has resulted in over 40,000 deaths since 1984 and strained Turkey's relations with its Kurdish population and neighboring countries.