The Charter Flight That Made History
On May 4th, 2020, Strategic Aviation flew 266 passengers on the first direct flight from Washington, DC (IAD) to Erbil International Airport (EIA) in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
This program was a custom solution to transport US Government contractors to Erbil, Iraq, to restart a program that had been stalled due to base evacuations. The air logistics to allow for overflight and landing permits were not inconsequential, and required a multi-disciplinary approach to coordinate approvals with the Iraqi Air Force and both the Iraqi and Kurdistan governments.
The Boeing 787’s 10.5-hour, 6,000-mile flight was the longest passenger flight to ever arrive in Erbil.