Iran is facing a new round of sanctions from select European countries, and this even impacts Iran’s national airline.
Iran Air to be banned from France, Germany, UK
The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, have just imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran, for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine. As it impacts aviation, this includes new restrictions on Iranian airlines flying to Europe.
Currently, Iran Air is the only Iranian carrier to fly to the United Kingdom or European Union, so that’s the airline that’s impacted by these changes. Iran Air flies from Tehran (IKA) to several destinations in Europe, including Cologne (CGN), Frankfurt (FRA), Hamburg (HAM), London (LHR), Milan (MXP), Paris (CDG), Rome (FCO), and Vienna (VIE).
For the time being, bilateral air service agreements are being withdrawn for France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, so it’s possible that service to Austria and Italy continues. It remains to be seen exactly when this ban will be implemented. While I can’t find any Iran Air flights currently enroute to the newly banned destinations, there are still flights scheduled in the coming days, with tickets on sale.
This isn’t the first time that Iran Air is facing sanctions from European countries, as similar bans were in place between 2010 and 2016, and again in 2020, for a brief period.
Let’s see if Iran imposes reciprocal flight bans
With Europe increasing sanctions against Iran, I’m curious if a flight ban becomes reciprocal. This could come in a couple of forms:
- Austrian flies to Tehran from Vienna, while Lufthansa is expected to soon resume flights to Tehran from Frankfurt
- Even beyond actually flying to Iran, Iran’s airspace is an important air corridor for travel to other points in Asia, and European carriers regularly overfly Iranian airspace
You’d think that Iran would retaliate by blocking its airspace from European carriers, but then again, this is a big money maker for the country, so…
Regardless of how this plays out, suffice it to say that some other airlines stand to benefit from these new sanctions, including Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, etc. They all serve Tehran, and can transport passengers traveling between Europe and Iran.
Bottom line
Several countries in the West are imposing new sanctions against Iran due to the country providing Russia with missiles. France, Germany, and the UK, are now banning Iran Air from flying to their countries, which will have major implications for the airline, as well as for passengers traveling between the countries.
This is far from the first time that Iran Air has faced such sanctions, so I’m curious to see how long they last this time around, and how it impacts European airlines using Iranian airspace.
What do you make of these Iran Air sanctions?
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