Sharjah-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia will start operating flights to Najaf in Iraq from 8 June.

Najaf is about 160 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad and is Air Arabia’s first destination in Iraq.

The carrier will operate two flights a week to Najaf.

Air Arabia now serves 64 routes from its three hubs in Sharjah, Morocco and Egypt, which began operating on 1 June.

Many of the region’s airlines are now starting flights to Iraq, which has big plans to develop and upgrade its infrastructure to attract both business visitors and tourists.

Dubai state-owned carrier Emirates will start flying to Baghdad on 1 July while Abu Dhabi-based Etihad began flying to Baghdad on 26 April.

Air Arabia recorded a profit of AED50m ($13.6m) in the first three months of 2010 compared to the profit of AED103m that it recorded in the first quarter of 2009 (MEED 9:5:10).

The carrier says the decrease in its profitability was in line with global trends of the aviation industry represented by the increase in fuel costs and continued pressure on yield margins.