A growing number of international airlines have cancelled all flights to and from Iran as country-wide protests reach a crisis point for the Iranian regime, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Earlier on Friday, Turkish Airlines, which normally operates numerous flights per day between its hub in Istanbul and the Iranian capital Tehran, scrapped all flights to Iran for both Friday and Saturday.
The airline’s other flights to Tabriz, Isfahan, and Shiraz have also all been cancelled.
As Friday progressed, a growing list of other international carriers also suspended flights to Iran as the world nervously watched what Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his authoritarian regime might do in an attempt to quell mass protests.
While Iran isn’t super connected with the rest of the world, big Persian Gulf carriers, including Emirates, FlyDubai, and Qatar Airways, have also scrapped regularly scheduled services to Iran.
Austrian Airlines is a rare European carrier to still serve Iran, but it has also taken the decision to axe Friday night’s planned service from Vienna to Tehran.
German flag carrier Lufthansa had suspended flights to Tehran following the escalating security situation between Iran and Israel last year, although the carrier had been planning to resume flights on January 16.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Lufthansa will go ahead with the route resumption as the situation in Tehran and across Iran develops.
Protests have been building for several weeks in response to a cost-of-living crisis that has left many Iranians in poverty. Efforts by the regime to quell the protests have so far had little effect, and there is growing concern that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard will respond with a massive show of force to stamp out dissent.
Many airlines are, however, still continuing to use Iranian airspace for overflights, including the likes of Emirates.
Some European carriers, such as British Airways, have avoided Iranian airspace for months and are continuing to track around the country.
The decision to avoid Iranian airspace for European carriers is largely voluntary, although regulators in many countries advise airlines either not to use Iranian airspace or to have contingency measures in place due to the risk of anti-aircraft weaponry being deployed – potentially by accident.
In contrast, U.S. airlines have been outright banned from overflying Iran since 2020.
