Iraqi Airways' first service to London in two decades has landed at Gatwick Airport after arriving from Baghdad via Malmo in Sweden.

While the service carries an Iraqi Airways flight number, IA237, the flight has been operated by Swedish wet-lease carrier Tor Air.

Tor Air used a Boeing 737-400 aircraft on the route.

Iraqi Airways is intending to offer a twice-weekly flight between Baghdad and London. The inbound service to Iraq would be non-stop.

The Iraqi flag-carrier has long planned to restore a link to London, a route on which it used to deploy Boeing 747s.

Its plans to resume London flights last year fell through, and an attempt to open the connection earlier this month was delayed as a result of the volcanic ash disruption in Europe.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news