UK Sanctions Force IranAir to Suspend Flights to Europe

IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad) has suspended its last remaining scheduled route to Europe beyond Türkiye following sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom. The sanctions, which target the Iranian airline over its alleged involvement in the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, have led to the cessation of services to London Heathrow.

This move comes on the heels of the September 2024 termination of the bilateral air services agreement between the UK and Iran, coupled with the European Union’s sanctions on IranAir in mid-October 2024. As a result, the airline has been forced to cancel all flights to the EU.

IranAir has rejected the sanctions as “baseless” but acknowledged that it will not be able to operate flights to London Heathrow for the foreseeable future. The airline’s CEO, Shamsuddin Farzadipour, confirmed that all affected passengers would be refunded, though he warned that the refund process could take time due to the sanctions on Iran’s financial system and the challenges of repatriating funds from foreign agents.

According to Flightradar24 ADS-B data, the final flight from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport to London Heathrow was operated on November 17, 2024, using one of IranAir’s two A330-200s, EP-IJA (msn 1540). The airline had previously offered the route three times a week.

With the suspension of the Tehran-Heathrow route, there are now no scheduled flights between the EU/UK and Iran, as no British or European carrier currently operates flights to Iran. Despite the cancellation of European services, IranAir continues to serve destinations in Türkiye and Baku Heydar Aliyev International, and the airline intends to use its Istanbul Airport flights as a key connection point for passengers traveling between Europe and Iran.

The ongoing sanctions and the suspension of IranAir’s European services reflect the broader geopolitical tensions between Iran and the West. While IranAir focuses on maintaining its operations to Türkiye and nearby destinations, the future of its European network remains uncertain, with the airline exploring alternative routes to facilitate travel for Iranian passengers.

Related News : https://airguide.info/?s=IranAir

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com