Erbil International Airport: Selective Carrier Cancellations Continue Amid Regional Drone/Missile Activity — Airspace Officially Open

July 21, 2026

Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AnadoluJet and Royal Jordanian have cancelled selected Erbil/Sulaimani flights following drone interceptions and missile strikes across Iraq's Kurdistan Region since July 18. EIA officials maintain airspace remains fully open and this is carrier-driven risk management, not an airport shutdown — correcting earlier reports conflating the two.

Desk: West Asia

Secondary monitoring lead: Maritime & Energy Desk (if strikes shift toward energy infrastructure or transport corridors)

Verified Facts

• Drone and missile activity escalated over the Kurdistan Region beginning July 18, 2026: air defenses intercepted eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil; missile strikes hit near Iranian Kurdish opposition positions in Sulaymaniyah; a drone struck an ammunition facility in Tasluja (Sulaymaniyah province), causing fire and secondary explosions; additional drones were reported near the US consulate in Erbil.

• Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AnadoluJet, and Royal Jordanian canceled selected Erbil/Sulaimani routes — described by airport authorities as individual carrier risk assessments, not airport-mandated closures.

• EIA Director Ahmed Hoshyar has consistently maintained (via Kurdistan24) that Erbil airspace remains fully open and operations continue normally.

• Disruption persisted at lower intensity into July 20: 10 cancellations, 9 delays, concentrated on Istanbul/Amman/UAE routes. Live EIA flight board (as of July 20, 20:03) shows a mixed picture — Pegasus/Turkish/Royal Jordanian cancellations alongside normal Iraqi Airways, Qatar Airways, and UR Airlines arrivals.

• Iraq's national airspace has reopened; EASA maintains an active bulletin (CZIB-2026-05, through August 31) advising covered operators to avoid the Baghdad FIR.

Inference / Unverified

• KRG and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have attributed the strikes to Iran; individual projectile/drone origin has not been independently verified. Label as "Iranian-linked" or "attributed to Iran," not confirmed.

Editorial Note

Earlier reporting (including an initial internal draft) conflated this carrier-driven selective disruption with a full authority-mandated airspace/airport shutdown. That characterization is not supported by current sourcing and has been corrected on the record per standard practice.