US sanctions cut Iran flights, forcing longer and pricier journeys
New US measures against Iranian airlines and their foreign service providers have suspended many routes from Iran, leaving travellers facing long detours and higher fares.
At a glance
- US sanctions on Iranian airlines and service providers have suspended direct flights between Iran and the UAE and other countries.
- A Tehran-Dubai trip that took under three hours and cost $100-$200 now can take 18 hours and cost more than $1,000.
- An Iranian travel platform says about 20 percent of flights from Iran to international destinations have been suspended.
In late September, a direct flight from Tehran to Dubai took under three hours and cost between $100 and $200. Less than a month later, the same journey can take up to 18 hours and cost more than $1,000.
The change follows a new round of United States sanctions targeting Iranian airlines and the foreign companies that service them. The measures took hold after a September 23 deadline for companies to stop servicing Iranian carriers, leading to the suspension of direct flights between Iran and the United Arab Emirates and several other countries.
Washington has moved to block routes into and out of Iran. In August it announced Operation Economic Outcast, an effort to pressure the parts of the Iranian economy still tied to global markets. As part of that campaign, the US sanctioned 27 airlines operating in Iran, while airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling firms and other foreign companies working with Iranian carriers were threatened with secondary sanctions that could cut them off from the US financial system.
Routes suspended and disrupted
The first visible effect came on September 24, when a flight from Tehran to Dushanbe was forced to turn back after Turkmenistan denied it permission to enter its airspace. The UAE, Azerbaijan and Georgia suspended services for Iranian flights. Flights between Iran and Muscat and Baghdad were halted, some flights to Turkiye were cancelled, and services to Najaf in Iraq — a major Shia pilgrimage destination — were briefly disrupted in late September.
The restrictions come on top of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which had already disrupted the country's international air links. Most international airlines have yet to resume services to Iran.
Three weeks after the aviation sanctions took effect, routes to Moscow, Najaf, Istanbul, Yerevan and Guangzhou in China were still operating. Flights to China and Russia have continued, but restoring suspended routes would require negotiations with other governments.
Impact on travellers
Amir, 43, who lives in the US state of Illinois, said his mother's medical appointments in Iran had been delayed for months. When the family decided to travel during a period of relative calm so she could receive care, the new sanctions disrupted flights.
"Now, to get to Iran, we have to fly to Istanbul and wait there for several hours or even several days," he said, adding that buying Iranian airline tickets from outside the country is also difficult. He said the journey is extremely stressful for an ill woman travelling alone.
Majid Hosseini-Nejad, founder of Alibaba Travel Group, one of Iran's largest online booking platforms, told Al Jazeera that around 20 percent of flights from Iran to international destinations have been suspended, reducing revenues for booking services and for airlines.
On October 11, Iran's Foreign Ministry said its Department of Economic Affairs was continuing efforts to facilitate Iranian flights to destinations in other countries.
A second traveller named Amir, an Iranian who flies regularly between Iran and Oman for work, said every Muscat-Tehran trip now takes several times longer and costs several times more. "It is unclear when the situation will change, or whether it will improve at all," he said.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Why are flights from Iran being cancelled?
- A new round of US sanctions on Iranian airlines and the foreign companies servicing them took effect after a September 23 deadline, prompting the UAE, Azerbaijan and Georgia to suspend services and halting other routes.
- How much does it cost to fly from Tehran to Dubai now?
- In late September a direct ticket cost $100 to $200 and took under three hours. Less than a month later, the trip can take up to 18 hours and cost more than $1,000.
- Which flights to and from Iran are still operating?
- More than three weeks after the sanctions took effect, routes to Moscow, Najaf, Istanbul, Yerevan and Guangzhou in China were still running, and flights to China and Russia have continued.
