(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> 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> 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> 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. </s> On Tuesday, the press office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced that international air traffic to and from Iraqi Kurdistan's airports should be resumed within one week. The decision came just a few weeks after the Iraqi government decided to extend the flight ban by another three months until May 31.

READ MORE: Baghdad Lifts Ban on International Flights to Iraqi Kurdistan — PM Office

Relations between the Iraqi federal authorities and the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan deteriorated sharply following the Kurdish independence referendum on September 25 that was deemed illegal by Baghdad. Following the vote, Iraq imposed sanctions on the Kurdish regional government; the country restricted banking operations, closed border crossings and banned international flights to and from the region. The last international flight from Iraqi Kurdistan left on September 29. </s> The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.

This content was published on March 13, 2018 11:04 AM

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has lifted the ban on international flights to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region's airports, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement on Tuesday. "Kurdistan's regional airports will be under the command of the Federal Ministry of the Interior," the statement said. The ban on international flights was part of sanctions imposed on the Kurdistan Region after it conducted a referendum in September on Kurdish independence in defiance of Baghdad's wishes. Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox.
All flights from Iran to Najaf, Iraq, resume following recent disturbances at Al Najaf International Airport.