I flew Iraqi Airways, an airline few Americans have experienced and is banned in the EU. Here were the 4 biggest surprises.

• I flew on Iraqi Airways, which doesn't fly to the US and is banned in the EU over safety concerns.
• The airline's Boeing 787 was practically new, but the seats were dirty and worn.
• I was surprised to receive a hot meal on the short flight, and the staff was friendly.

I'm an American college student with a passion for flying airlines that most people have never heard of. When I found a $123 economy ticket on Iraqi Airways, I booked it without a second thought.

When I started telling people, the reaction was always the same. Nobody I spoke to knew Iraq's national airline existed, and most questioned if it was safe. Decades of war and sanctions have left the carrier relatively small and made it difficult to acquire new planes and parts.

Few Americans have actually flown it. Iraqi Airways has never operated commercial flights to the US, largely due to limited demand to the Middle East and concerns about Iraq's aviation safety oversight. The carrier has been banned outright from flying in the EU since 2015 over safety concerns.

The airline still exists, though, and it's quietly rebuilding. My 2 ½-hour February flight from Baghdad to Dubai was on a newBoeing 787, and I spent the whole day being wrong about what I'd find.

These were the four things that surprised me most.

Iraqi Airways did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The fleet is newer than I expected

I'll admit that when booking, I assumed I'd be placed on an old plane pushed way beyond its retirement date. That isn't what's sitting on the ramp in Baghdad now.

My aircraft was one of two practically new 787-8s that arrived in 2023, with more expected through 2027.

The airline has spent the last few years replacing a lot of its fleet, which has an average age of about 11 years, in line with major Middle Eastern carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways. It was among the first airlines in the Middle East to fly the Airbus A220, and next-generation Boeing 737 Max 8s have been arriving since 2023.

While my plane looked impressive from the ramp, the interior confused me. With stained seats, crumbs along the cushions, and a dirty seatback pocket, I was surprised the cabin hadn't been cared for the way a 2-year-old plane should be.

I was also wary about safety. Iraqi Airways' only crash was in 1986 during a hijacking, but it remains on the EU's no-fly list. Regulators identified serious safety deficiencies in its operations and corporate management, and the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority has failed to meet international aviation oversight standards.

Knowing that the airline you're about to fly on has a history of safety concerns is not exactly comforting.

Baghdad Airport has a pigeon problem

I flew Turkish Airlines to Baghdad International Airport from Istanbul the morning of my Iraqi Airways flight. I got my visa online through a third party for about $200, but didn't leave the airport, so I had plenty of time to explore.

What I noticed most in the airport terminal wasn't the unique architecture or the shops. It was the birds.

Pigeons were everywhere inside the concourse, doing their best airplane impressions. A few had even claimed the tops of the security cameras as their own.

My bird-loving heart enjoyed this for roughly 10 minutes: During boarding, I watched a pigeon poop on a man's head. He took it far better than I would have.

I got a hot meal on a 2-hour flight

Many US airlines gave up on feeding people years ago. Two hours domestically gets you a drink and a small snack; that's it for economy.

Iraqi Airways brought out a full warm meal on a flight of the same length. It wasn't just a sandwich or a snack box, but a hot tray of chicken and rice, served with enough time to eat before the descent started. Everything on the tray was good.

This meal service differs from what you'll find on many Western airlines, which operate in highly competitive markets where keeping costs down is a major priority.

Many US carriers have decided they don't need to offer full meal services on short-haul flights to compete. Iraqi Airways, by contrast, is state-owned with government funding and different cost pressures.

I met several interesting people at the airport

Flying is a stressful experience nearly everywhere, and airports can bring out an every-person-for-themselves instinct in most of us: Headphones in, eyes down, get through it. That's the baseline I've come to expect while traveling.

Baghdad Airport surprised me. A man at check-in started talking to me because he wanted to know where I was from. As an American, I wasn't someone he encountered every day, and before I knew it, we'd spent nearly an hour comparing our families and the customs we'd grown up with.

Later, I was trying to buy a bottle of water at a coffee stand when another traveler stepped in to translate. That turned into a conversation about how he'd learned English at university.

The interactions weren't what I'd expected from an airport I'd been nervous about navigating, as the US State Department has issued a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory for Iraq. Instead, I got a glimpse of the people behind the place I was visiting.

Overall, it was definitely a whirlwind trip with plenty of surprises.

The plane itself left much to be desired, and Iraq continues to face aviation-safety challenges and significant geopolitical tensions. But flying Iraqi Airways as an American — albeit one who seeks out such unusual travel experiences — was fascinating.

I found a hub airport run by pigeons, a hot meal on a flight that wouldn't be offered in economy back home, and a fleet quietly being rebuilt, even as the airline continues to face regulatory challenges.

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