Spiralling into Baghdad?

Spiralling into Baghdad?

They don't do that anymore, as it turns out. Which is to say, flying into Baghdad had in the years following the US invasion required skilled pilots able to pull planes down in tight corkscrews so as to avoid any possible anti-aircraft fire.

It’s a tactic that’s still sometimes used in places like Afghanistan. But not in Baghdad anymore - it seems the situation has at least stabilised that much.

Instead of the chartered planes journalists used to have to take from Amman, now more and more commercial airliners are willing to make the trip, including Bahrain’s Gulf Air (since September) and Royal Jordanian Airlines.

We flew in on the Lebanon-based Middle East Airlines. They started their service to the Iraqi capital about three months ago, our air hostess Layal tells me. It’s only her second time making the trip, though, and flight crews never disembark from the plane.

Our Beirut - Baghdad flight struggles to fill half the Airbus A321, but Layal says the returning flight is fully booked (roughly 150 seats).

Notable as well about the flight though, is the presence of other international journalists.

After the rush of coverage in the first few years of the invasion, international reporting out of Iraq largely tapered off - arguably due to a variety of factors, including increasing violence, waning public attentions and newsroom budget cuts.

Joining us on a return to the country ahead of general elections were a team from Australia's Channel 9, as well as the New York Times' Stephen Farrell.

A stalwart war correspondent, Farrell has spent years in and out of Iraq, alternating with trips to Afghanistan and elsewhere.

On the ground in Baghdad, the airport was surprising functional - looking almost like a normal airport, excepting of course the lack of any other commercial airliners on the concourse, and a steady stream of KBR US government contractors.

$2 for a visa, $1 for a trolley, and then just a bit of a delay before our security escorts make it through the numerous checkpoints to collect us and head back.

"Welcome to Baghdad" reads the sign as we make our way into the city.