Airports in 7 nations in travel ban react to Seattle judge's order

An Iraqi official at Baghdad international airport says the travel terminal was particularly crowded today following news that U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Iraqis and six other majority-Muslim nations was blocked by a federal judge’s ruling.

Haider al-Rubaie, an official with the state-run Iraqi airways said flights from Baghdad to Dubai, Istanbul and Cairo were booked solid Saturday afternoon. While there are no direct flights to the US from Baghdad, al-Rubaie said many of the passengers were holding transit tickets to the US.

Iraqi member of parliament Ibrahim Bahr Uloom praised the U.S. judge who ruled against Trump’s ban and admonished the Iraqi leaders who were unable to achieve the same ends through diplomatic channels.

“The U.S. justice system is better than Iraqi diplomacy,” he said. “Today we thank the American judiciary.”

In Egypt, Cairo airport and airlines officials say they have received instructions from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend President Trump’s executive order to ban travel to the United States by migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries: Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya and Yemen.

They say today there have not been any U.S.-bound migrants from those countries going through Egyptian airports since a federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on admitting travelers from the seven countries or any refugees.

Qatar Airways issued an advisory to passengers saying citizens of the seven Muslim-majority countries previously barred from entry who hold a valid U.S. visa or green card would be allowed to travel to the U.S.

The airline cited a directive by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Government-backed Qatar Airways is one of a handful of Mideast airlines operating direct daily flights to multiple American cities. Like other Gulf carriers, many of its customers are transit passengers whose journeys originated elsewhere.

Its U.S. destinations from its Doha hub include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington.