Bahrain's Gulf Air has been forced to temporarily suspend flights to Basra, Iraq for "commercial reasons".
The suspension comes just a month after the Manama-based carrier resumed its services to Iraq a year after halting flights.
Bahrain’s national airline halted flights to Iran and Iraq in March 2011, citing “operational reasons” but continued to fly to several predominantly Sunni countries in the region.
Now, it said in a statement on its website that the services had been halted for commercial reasons, without elaborating.
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The airline, which competes with Bahrain Air, has struggled to maintain profits since early last year when passenger numbers to the island state dropped amid anti-government protests. Senior executives from both airlines are both said to be considering a merger.
In the statement, Gulf Air said: "Gulf Air regrets to announce the temporary deferment of its services between Bahrain and Basra for commercial reasons.
"Gulf Air understands the inconvenience this may cause and apologises to passengers affected by the deferment."
It added that passengers with tickets already booked will be contacted by its customer services team in the next week to offer alternate options.
Although state-owned Gulf Air suffered losses in the wake of political unrest in the kingdom, passenger numbers increased 13 percent in the first half of the year, while seat load factors reached 77 percent, up five percent from the same period a year earlier.
The carrier’s revenues for the first half of the year have increased six percent compared to the same period last year.
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