Iraqi premier orders cancellation of 3 Mosul airport contracts over links to armed groups
Iraq’s PM Ali al-Zaidi canceled three Mosul airport contracts over alleged links to armed groups—covering counter, parking, and taxi office leases—and ordered them reassigned to international firms, INA reported.
- Middle East
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 10:56 PM 07 November 2026
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Saturday ordered the cancellation of contracts with three companies at Mosul International Airport over reported links to armed groups and directed that the contracts be awarded to international firms, the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
An unnamed source told the agency that the order covered Sky Plus's contract to lease airport counters, Sama al-Matar's contract to lease an open-air parking lot on airport grounds and Al-Faisal al-Shamikh's contract to lease a taxi office.
The source gave no details on which armed groups were involved, the nature of their reported links to the companies or when the contracts would be reassigned.
In a separate statement, the prime minister's office said al-Zaidi had ordered officials to speed up the launch of airport operations by hiring specialized international firms to jointly operate and manage the facility.
Former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani inaugurated the airport on July 16, 2025, after it was rebuilt and upgraded. Regular commercial service has yet to resume despite an earlier announcement that domestic flights would restart, with technical and administrative challenges delaying operations.