Gulf Air on Wednesday said that the proposed launch dates of its services to Basra and to Isfahan have been deferred.Under the new schedule, flights to Basra will begin on December 5 while services to Isfahan will be launched on December 9. Service to Addis Ababa will be launched on December 6 as planned.Gulf Air said that the postponement was due to some procedural and administrative delays in getting necessary permissions to commence the service as scheduled.While Gulf Air regrets any inconvenience this may cause to its customers, a dedicated Gulf Air team is working hard to complete all formalities to launch the service without any further delay, a statement from the company said. Passengers who had already booked on these flights are being contacted by our Customer Services team to advise them of the alternate options available.
Last month, Iraqi media reported that a delegation from Gulf Air had a meeting with the officials running the Basra International Airport in Basra to put the final touches before starting its Manama-Basra route.An airport source said that he expected that flights between Manama and Basra, 590 km south of Baghdad, would start within weeks.