Baghdad-London flights resume after 20 years

The first scheduled passenger flight from Baghdad to London in 20 years landed at Gatwick Airport.

The Iraqi Airways flight arrived at 11.08pm last night. It stopped in Sweden for security checks but will fly back direct, with two flights a week.

A spokesman for BAA, which runs Gatwick, said: "This flight should have happened last week but it was affected by the ash cloud."

The Iraqi Transport Ministry website said the announcement of the flight was received "with joy and pleasure" by Iraqi exiles in London who previously had to take several flights to return home.