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War zone forwarders keep delivering through shot and shell in Iraq

RUGGED Coyne Airways is having doubts about its regular weekly flights from Dubai to Baghdad as Sunni forces advanced on the Iraqi capital and the US-equipped national army appeared to disintegrate.

"Given what's going on, there's got to be a question mark over this flight next week," CEO Larry Coyne told Lloyd's Loading List. "We're just waiting to see what happens."

The company had block space on a weekly freighter flight into Baghdad from Dubai, which operated the week before.

Mr Coyne said freighter lands in Erbil, a city of 1.2 million in Kurdish Iraq, with both Emirates and Etihad still landing. Erbil air cargo goes to the oilfields in the north while consumer goods mainly go south to Baghdad.

Disruptions and delays occur with the closure of northern Iraqi roads. "We continue to monitor the situation and have not suspended our services at this stage," said a DHL spokesman.

Panalpina's Iraq country manager Thomas David says it was mostly business as usual at Erbil. "We can receive shipments through Erbil and Suleymaniyah airports and deliver them within Kurdistan," he said.

Roads to Baghdad and southern Iraq are unsafe, and truck transport had stopped as have deliveries to Iraqi cities of Taji, Balad, Tikrit, Kirkuk and Mosul.

"We expect road closures and curfews in Baghdad, but for the time being we can still provide services via Baghdad airport and deliver within the city. Southern Iraq is not affected and we can provide transport services via Safwan, Umm Qasr and Basrah Airport," said Mr David.