The German flag carrier Lufthansa has pushed back the start date of its daily flight between Frankfurt and the Iranian capital Tehran, just hours after saying it still planned to resume the route on Friday after a seven-month pause.
Lufthansa paused its service to Tehran last June due to security concerns, which had been prompted by the escalating violence between Iran and Israel.
Earlier on Friday, Lufthansa made the surprise announcement that it still planned to go ahead with the resumption of flights to Tehran on January 16, amidst mass protests in Iran, sparked by a cost-of-living crisis that is now threatening Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s grip on power.
Security forces have allegedly responded to the growing protests with the use of deadly force, with reports of body bags piling up at hospitals and morgues across the country, and notably in Tehran.
Verifying these reports has, however, become increasingly difficult due to the Iranian regime’s decision to block all internet access in the country, which has included reported military blocking of Starlink terminals that were smuggled into Iran.
Lufthansa has suspended flights to Tehran on several occasions in the last few years due to heightened security concerns in the region linked to Iran’s military activities towards Israel.
The airline last resumed daily non-stop flights between Frankfurt and Tehran in March 2025 before suspending the route just months later in June 2025. The decision followed a strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear program, which was followed by a huge Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Lufthansa said the airline was still eyeing a January 12 restart, saying in an emailed statement:
“Lufthansa continues to suspend flights to Tehran and plans to resume services on 16 January, as previously communicated, while closely monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis.”
When asked what measures would be put in place to keep pilots and flight attendants safe, the airline said it was unable to comment publicly on “potential security measures.”
Hours later, the airline said it had reevaluated its stance and would now suspend flights to Tehran until January 21 at the earliest. A spokesperson for the carrier said it was closely monitoring the situation in Iran.
Austrian Airlines is part of the wider Lufthansa Group, and has been operating flights between Vienna and Tehran since last October. The airline suspended flights this weekend, along with several other major international carriers.
The Vienna-based carrier had scheduled a flight for Wednesday, but flights have now also been paused until January 21.
Turkish Airlines has also canceled flights between its hub in Istanbul and Tehran for the next few days. Emirates and Qatar Airways have, however, resumed their regularly scheduled flights to the Iranian capital.
