Three European Airlines Suspend Flights to Iran

Three major European airlines, including British Airways, Air France, and KLM, have announced the suspension of their flights to Iran. According to Reuters, British Airways announced on Thursday, September 1, that it intends to stop its London-Tehran flights, stating that continuing operations to Iran is 'not economically viable.' No further explanation was provided, but the decline in the value of the rial against the dollar likely contributed to a decrease in passengers on the London-Tehran route. Additionally, the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions could be another reason for the flight suspensions. During the previous round of sanctions, the airline also halted its flights to Tehran, resuming them only after sanctions were lifted. Last year, British Airways operated direct round-trip flights to Iran six days a week from Terminal 5 of London Heathrow Airport. The airline announced that it would cease flights to Iran starting from October 1. Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran's ambassador to the UK, expressed regret over British Airways' decision in a tweet, stating that 'this decision is unfortunate given the demand from passengers on this direct route. We hope Iran Air, with three direct weekly flights to London, can fill the gap.' Meanwhile, KLM, which announced last month on its official website that it was halting flights to Iran, is set to implement this decision from October 3. The Washington Post also reported that alongside KLM, Air France has announced that it will suspend its flights to Iran in October. The report adds that flights from both airlines to Iran have recently decreased. The Washington Post further notes that the Kazakh airline Astana has also recently stopped flights to Tehran. Air France had previously announced on April 12, before the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, that it would reduce its flights to Tehran due to economic issues starting this fall. According to Reuters, the airline states that its operations over the past two years indicate that flights to Tehran have not been financially viable. Despite the suspension of flights by these three airlines, AFP reports that German airline Lufthansa and Italian airline Alitalia continue their flights to Iran.