(Reuters) - Flights from Iran to the Iraqi city of Najaf will be diverted to Baghdad, Iran’s state television reported on Sunday.

Hundreds of Iraqis stormed the airport and halted air traffic in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf on Friday, extending several days of protests.

“Due to problems at Najaf airport ... Iranian planes will take their passengers to Baghdad airport,” Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, was cited as saying.

He did not say how many flights were affected. </s> A number of Middle East airlines have halted flights to the Iraqi city of Najaf after days of protests and unrest.

On Friday, hundreds of protestors stormed the Shi’ite holy city’s airport, part of larger protests about corruption and poorly managed government services that have wracked the southern port city of Basra for several days.

According to various news outlets, protesters in Najaf had entered the airport’s main hall. Some had reportedly crossed onto the airport tarmac.

Following the Friday incident, Iraqi transportation authorities announced that the airport would close. The airport re-opened on Sunday, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said in an announcement.

In a statement, Flydubai said that its flights between Dubai and Najaf – FZ221 and FZ222 – were cancelled “due to disruption on the ground at Najaf Airport until 22nd July 2018.”

“We are in touch with the relevant authorities and continue to monitor the situation,” a Flydubai spokesperson said. “Our passengers can rebook to a later date or receive a refund.”

Royal Jordanian Airlines, which operates four weekly scheduled flights to Najaf, announced that it was halting services from Amman “until further notice, in view of the security situation at Najaf Airport.”

With the announcement, Najaf becomes the ninth Royal Jordanian destination to be suspended for security reasons, in addition to Mosul in Iraq, Damascus and Aleppo in Syria, Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata in Libya and Aden in Yemen.

Additionally, Kuwait Airways announced it was also halting flights, and that existing bookings would either be transferred to other companies or refunded without penalties.

For all the latest transport news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.Original Article </s> The Kuwaiti national airliner released a statement about halting flights to Najaf "until further notice." The company promised to provide passengers with flight tickets on other dates or to return them money for tickets without any penalties.

"Royal Jordanian Airline decided to halt its services between Amman and the Iraqi city of Najaf, effective July 15, 2018, and until further notice, in view of the security situation at Najaf Airport," the company said in a statement.

On Saturday, the protesters tried to attack the building of the Karbala governorate's administration after which the Iraqi Interior Ministry ordered to enhance the security of government facilities. The units of the ministry have been instructed to deploy security cordons next to government buildings and in the areas marred by unrest.

READ MORE: Iraqi Prime Minister Makes 7 Decisions to Meet Demands of Protesters — Reports

Despite the curfew imposed in the country, the protests continued on Sunday. Some banks in the country had to cease work out of concern for the safety of its employees, while the law enforcement officers have increased the security measures around the country's oil and gas facilities. </s> Jordan’s state airline said on Sunday it had suspended four weekly flights to the Iraqi city of Najaf due to the “security situation at it’s airport, a company statement said.

Royal Jordanian said Najaf is the ninth destination in the region – from Mosul in Iraq to Aden and Sanaa in Yemen – to which it has suspended flights due to turmoil in recent years.

Najaf is among the cities in southern Iraq that have witnessed days of protests over poor services and against alleged official corruption. </s> Planes pictured on the tarmac at Arbil International Airport, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on November 23, 2015 (AFP Photo/Safin HAMED)

Tehran (AFP) - Iran said Sunday it had blocked all flights to and from Iraq's Kurdistan at the request of Baghdad, a day before the autonomous region holds an independence referendum opposed by Tehran.

"At the request of the central government of Iraq, all flights from Iran to Sulaymaniyah and Arbil, as well as all flights through our airspace originating from the Kurdistan region, have been stopped," said Supreme National Security Council spokesman Keivan Khosravi, according to official news agency IRNA.

The move was due to "the insistence" of Kurdistan officials in holding the referendum, Khosravi said.

He did not specify how long the ban would stay in place.

The vote was set to go ahead Monday despite opposition from Baghdad and its neighbours, including Tehran.

Iran warned last week that independence for the region would mean an end to all of border and security arrangements.

There are several regular flights from Iranian cities to the Kurdistan region.

The news comes hours after Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards began military exercises along the border with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Such exercises are common in the region, due to the persistent threat posed by Kurdish separatists, who regularly carry out cross-border attacks against Iranian security forces. </s> Qatar Airways is cancelling flights to Kurdish northern Iraq from Sept 29 to Oct 1 at the request of Iraq´s Civil Aviation Authority, the carrier said on its website on Thursday.

The flights to and from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah have been cancelled after Iraqi authorities said all international air traffic would be suspended from Friday to those airports, the statement said.

Lebanon´s and Egypt´s national carriers also said earlier they will halt flights to the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil this week at the request of the Baghdad authorities.

Their decision comes after Iraq´s government threatened to ban international flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan after the region held an independence referendum on Monday.

Lebanon´s Middle East Airlines and EgyptAir both said their flights to and from Arbil would be affected.

MEA chairman Mohammed al-Hout confirmed "the suspension of all flights to and from Arbil from Friday, upon the request of the Iraqi aviation authorities for the halt of all international fights to and from the airport."

In a statement, EgyptAir also said its flights would halt from Friday "until further notice."

The transport minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Mawloud Bawah Murad, expressed bafflement at the move by Baghdad.

"Arbil and Sulaimaniyah airports were built from the budget of the Kurdistan government," he told a press conference in Arbil.

"We want more clarifications from the Iraqi government on its demand to hand them the two airports, because we don´t understand how to give them the two airports, when they are already subject to the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority.”

Baghdad has reacted with anger to Monday´s Kurdish independence vote, saying there would be no negotiations on wider autonomy for the Kurds in its wake. </s> BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets for the sixth day on Sunday in the southern oil-rich province of Basra, as authorities put security forces on high alert and blocked the internet in the country's Shiite heartland.

The protests come at a sensitive time as Iraq awaitis the final results of a partial recount of the ballots from May's national elections before a new government can be formed. The elections, the fourth since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled ruler Saddam Hussein, saw the lowest turnout in 15 years and were marred with allegations of fraud and irregularities.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the local government building and closed the roads leading to major oil fields north and west of Basra city of, activist Laith Hussein told The Associated Press by phone.

Security forces guarding the local government building opened fire, causing some protesters to disperse, he added.

Elsewhere in Basra, protesters forced authorities to close the vital Um Qasr port on the Persian Gulf, planning to march to the border crossings with Kuwait and Iran, he added.

The two main border crossings — Safwan with Kuwait and Shalamcheh with Iran — have been closed to both passengers and goods, a senior official with the Border Crossings Directorate told the AP. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

He could not confirm if there were fatalities from either incident. Health and police officials were not immediately available to comment.

Around noon on Sunday, Basra anti-riot police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, said Sadiq Saleh, one of the demonstrators.

"I will not leave my place here until I get all my rights," said the 35-year-old who has been out of work for the past three years. "The government lies to us, they always give us such promises and we get nothing."

There were also similar protests on Saturday in Baghdad. Hundreds poured into Baghdad's Tahrir Square and the eastern Shiite district of Sadr City. Some protesters set tires on fire and tried to break into the Badr Organization's office in Sadr City, prompting guards to open fire. No casualties were reported.

Citing security concerns, Kuwait Airways, the Royal Jordanian and Iran's Aviation Authority suspended their flights to Iraq's second busiest airport in Najaf. Flights to other Iraqi airports have not been affected. The United Arab Emirates' FlyDubai cancelled Saturday's flights to Najaf, saying it will suspend them until July 22.

In a bid to contain the protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi convened a six-minister committee headed by the oil minister, Jabar Ali al-Luaibi. The committee promised jobs for those living in the areas around the oil fields and announced allocations for urgent projects, mainly for water provision.

On Friday, al-Abadi flew to Basra from the NATO summit in Brussels to try to diffuse the unrest. He also asked the state-run Basra Oil Company to provide more jobs to locals and announced urgent allocations.

But that didn't appear to assuage the protesters.

"These announcements are just anesthetization to the residents of Basra," Hussein, the activist, said. "Every year, they make the same promises, and nothing happens on the ground."

The only solution is "to replace the current faces that represent the parties that failed to develop Basra by new faces from new political parties from Basra itself," he added.

Like other locals, Hussein demanded that Baghdad empower the new, local Basra government.

The demonstrations were given a boost after a representative of the Shiite community's spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, offered his solidarity with the protesters during Friday's prayer sermon, but called for peaceful demonstrations.

Basra is Iraq's second-largest province and home to about 70 percent of the country's proven oil reserves of 153.1 billion barrels. It is located on the Persian Gulf bordering Kuwait and Iran, and is Iraq's only hub these days for all oil exports to the international market.

Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef in Cairo, Karin Laub in Amman, Jordan, David Rising in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran contributed to this report. </s> BAGHDAD - Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets for the sixth day on Sunday in the southern oil-rich province of Basra, as authorities put security forces on high alert and blocked the internet in the country's Shiite heartland.

The protests come at a sensitive time as Iraq awaits the final results of a partial recount of the ballots from May's national elections before a new government can be formed. The elections, the fourth since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled ruler Saddam Hussein, saw the lowest turnout in 15 years and were marred with allegations of fraud and irregularities.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the local government building and closed the roads leading to major oil fields north and west of Basra city of, activist Laith Hussein told The Associated Press by phone.

Security forces guarding the local government building opened fire, causing some protesters to disperse, he added.

Elsewhere in Basra, protesters forced authorities to close the vital Um Qasr port on the Persian Gulf, planning to march to the border crossings with Kuwait and Iran, he added.

The two main border crossings - Safwan with Kuwait and Shalamcheh with Iran - have been closed to both passengers and goods, a senior official with the Border Crossings Directorate told the AP. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

He could not confirm if there were fatalities from either incident. Health and police officials were not immediately available to comment.

Around noon on Sunday, Basra anti-riot police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, said Sadiq Saleh, one of the demonstrators.

"I will not leave my place here until I get all my rights," said the 35-year-old who has been out of work for the past three years. "The government lies to us, they always give us such promises and we get nothing."

There were also similar protests on Saturday in Baghdad. Hundreds poured into Baghdad's Tahrir Square and the eastern Shiite district of Sadr City. Some protesters set tires on fire and tried to break into the Badr Organization's office in Sadr City, prompting guards to open fire. No casualties were reported.

Citing security concerns, Kuwait Airways, the Royal Jordanian and Iran's Aviation Authority suspended their flights to Iraq's second busiest airport in Najaf. Flights to other Iraqi airports have not been affected. The United Arab Emirates' FlyDubai cancelled Saturday's flights to Najaf, saying it will suspend them until July 22.

In a bid to contain the protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi convened a six-minister committee headed by the oil minister, Jabar Ali al-Luaibi. The committee promised jobs for those living in the areas around the oil fields and announced allocations for urgent projects, mainly for water provision.

On Friday, al-Abadi flew to Basra from the NATO summit in Brussels to try to defuse the unrest. He also asked the state-run Basra Oil Company to provide more jobs to locals and announced urgent allocations.

But that didn't appear to assuage the protesters.

"These announcements are just anesthetization to the residents of Basra," Hussein, the activist, said. "Every year, they make the same promises, and nothing happens on the ground."

The only solution is "to replace the current faces that represent the parties that failed to develop Basra by new faces from new political parties from Basra itself," he added.

Like other locals, Hussein demanded that Baghdad empower the new, local Basra government.

The demonstrations were given a boost after a representative of the Shiite community's spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, offered his solidarity with the protesters during Friday's prayer sermon, but called for peaceful demonstrations.

Basra is Iraq's second-largest province and home to about 70 percent of the country's proven oil reserves of 153.1 billion barrels. It is located on the Persian Gulf bordering Kuwait and Iran, and is Iraq's only hub these days for all oil exports to the international market.

Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef in Cairo, David Rising in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Iraq's prime minister on Tuesday announced the resumption of international flights to the two main cities in Iraqi Kurdistan - Erbil and Sulaymaniyah - following their suspension in Sept. 2017 in response to the autonomous region's independence referendum.

Haider al-Abadi's statement said international flights would be resumed within one week, after authorities in Kurdistan, located in northern Iraq, agreed to hand over control of their airports and border posts to federal authorities at Iraq's Ministry of Interior.
Flights from Iran to Najaf, Iraq, are diverted to Baghdad due to anti-government protests.