ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey has officially lifted its two-and-a-half-year flight ban on Sulaimani International Airport, reopening air travel between the Kurdish city and Turkish destinations.

The Turkish Civil Aviation Authority lifted a flight notice restricting access to Sulaimani International Airport, effectively normalizing air travel and reopening the country’s airspace for flights to the Kurdish city, a statement from the Sulaimani airport said on Wednesday. 

“On this occasion, we congratulate travelers and our compatriots and hope that in the near future, all airlines will reorganize their flight schedules to Turkey and other European countries and the world,” the statement added.

The Kurdistan Region Presidency last week announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to lift the flight ban placed on Sulaimani International Airport upon the request of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani during their meeting in Ankara.

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

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 had 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 own Kurdish population and those in neighboring countries.