Sawan Airlines

Sawan Airlines

IATA ICAO Callsign - - -
Headquarters	Erbil, Iraq
Key people	Kawa Besarani

Sawan Airlines was an airline company that provided flights between Iraq's cities Erbil and Sulaimaniyah and some cities in Europe.

In Kurdish, "sawan" means "newborn. The name was chosen to recognize the airline was the first Kurdish airline in Iraqi history. The airline was formed by a group of private Kurdish investors, headed by Kawa Besarani, intrending to end the isolation of the Kurdish region of Iraq, which required traveling through Baghdad or travelling through Turkey, Iran or Syria. The airline used leased aircraft with Greek or German crews.^[1]

The first flight from London's Stansted Airport to Erbil took place on October 26, 2005.^[2] By 2006, plans were made for flights from Amsterdam to Sulaimaniyah.^[3]

References

1. Recknagel, Charles (December 8, 2005). "Iraq: Relative Peace Underscores Issue Of Kurdish Region's Future". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
2. "The First Direct Fight From London To Erbil Takes Off On The 26th October". Sawan Airlines press release. October 3, 2005. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
3. "Flights from Amsterdam to Suleimaniah". Tourism Kurdistan. June 9, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2015.