AirAsia Plans to Resume Flights to Tehran

AirAsia X, a subsidiary of AirAsia, has announced its intention to resume direct passenger flights to Tehran. Reuters reported on Monday, January 25, that Benjamin Ben Ismail, the company's CEO, made this announcement during an aviation industry conference in Tehran, stating that the decision was based on Iran's "numerous capabilities." The first AirAsia flight to Iran took place in July 2010, and the company operated multiple flights to Iran for a time but had to suspend operations due to the expansion of sanctions. Following the cessation of flights by Far Eastern airlines to Iran, Iran Air and Mahan Air operated flights on the Tehran-Kuala Lumpur route. In recent years, many Iranians have traveled between Iran and Far Eastern countries using airlines from neighboring countries such as Turkish Airlines, Gulf Air, or Emirates. Additionally, these foreign airlines have imposed sanctions and restrictions on Iranians at times in line with their governments' policies against Iran; one of the latest cases is Gulf Air, which halted all its flights from Manama, Bahrain, to Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Shiraz two weeks ago. Gulf Air made this decision in accordance with the policies of the Manama government, as Bahraini leaders sided with the Saudis in the recent tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and severed relations with Iran. However, since late January this year, following the implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, which has led to the lifting of a significant portion of sanctions against Iran, the country is announcing a new era for its aviation fleet and cooperation with global airlines. Farhad Parvaresh, the CEO of Iran Air, announced on Sunday, January 24, the lifting of recent years' restrictions on refueling Iranian passenger planes on certain European flight routes. Iranian aviation officials also reported plans to purchase 114 passenger aircraft from the European company Airbus and intentions to buy another 100 aircraft, likely from Boeing in the United States. Simultaneously, according to Fars News Agency, private Iranian airlines, including Kish Airways, have begun separate negotiations with Airbus for aircraft purchases. Moreover, Iran is hosting an aviation industry conference in Tehran this week, with Airbus being the most significant foreign company present, while Boeing representatives are absent. Ahmad Reza Bayati, an Iranian aviation official, told ILNA News Agency that Boeing "could not attend this conference due to visa issues, but major aircraft leasing companies from the U.S. have come to Iran."