Once one of the greatest centres of learning and culture in the world, Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age. It was once a favoured destination on the ' hippie trail ' and is packed full of sights. Five centuries of peace came to an end in when the city was destroyed by the Mongols who advanced westwards. After a period of Ottoman rule , Baghdad became the capital of Iraq under a British protectorate and as an independent state.
Since then, Baghdad has been subject to war, terrorist attacks and attempts at reconstruction. The national airline is Iraqi Airways [ dead link ] that operates a growing fleet of more than 30 modern jets. They mainly provide domestic flights but Iraqi Airways also offers flights to numerous international destinations, including a few routes from Europe.
Numerous other operators in the Middle East also fly to Baghdad, with daily flights from most regional hubs. There are also a few low cost airlines such as FlyBaghdad that have flights to Baghdad. The best way to travel from Europe is either with Austrian or Turkish Airlines.
They operate several direct flights per week from Vienna and daily from Istanbul respectively. The frequent sandstorms that hit the area can obscure visibility and cause flights to be turned away.
It is not unusual for commercial flights to make it all the way to BIAP, and then turn around and return to their origin due to limited visibility on the runway.
