U.S. Officials Ground an Entrepreneur in Iraq
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
AGHDAD, Iraq, May 14 — As the Bush administration rushes to jump-start the reconstruction of postwar Iraq, it may want to consider the recent woes of Pete Henderson.
Mr. Henderson, a South African entrepreneur, thought last week that he had lined up everything he needed to start Air Baghdad, the first commercial air service into and out of Iraq since the war.
Mr. Henderson had flight approval from American military commanders to operate his first route between Baghdad and Amman, Jordan. He had a plane and crew. Because armed gangs are attacking and killing road travelers with increasing frequency, he had throngs of customers ready to pay one-way fares of $650. He even had insurance from Lloyd’s of London.
But just as the first passengers were ready to board his 50-seat commuter plane last Thursday, Air Baghdad was grounded. The decision boiled down to this: he was moving too early to make a profit and might get a jump on his competitors.
“No flights for profit or commercial purposes will be approved,” wrote Lt. Col. David Jones, the senior adviser on Iraqi civil aviation at the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, in an e-mail message to Mr. Henderson on Tuesday. Any attempt to cloak flights as “humanitarian,” he added, “will be dealt with harshly.”
Mr. Henderson, sitting in a tent that he has equipped with electricity and high-speed Internet access by satellite, said he was dumbfounded.
“I’m putting up my own money,” he said. “I’m offering a service that is badly needed and could save lives. I would have thought people would say, `Great, glad you’re here.’ “
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