In late September, travellers could still fly directly from Tehran to Dubai in less than three hours, with a ticket costing between $100 and $200. Less than a month later, it can take up to 18 hours to make the same journey and cost more than $1,000. The change is the result of a new round of United States sanctions targeting Iranian airlines and foreign companies providing them with services.
The restrictions intensified 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, as well as a number of other countries. The United States has sought to block routes into and out of Iran and, more broadly, restrict access to the country. In August, the US announced Operation Economic Outcast as a means of increasing pressure on Iran, targeting the few remaining sectors of the Iranian economy still connected to the global economy.
As part of the campaign, the US sanctioned 27 airlines operating in Iran. Airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling service providers and other foreign companies working with Iranian airlines were threatened with secondary sanctions, potentially cutting them off from the US financial system. The first sign of the impact of the new sanctions came on September 24, when an Iranian flight travelling from Tehran to Dushanbe was forced to turn back mid-journey and return to Tehran after it was denied permission to enter Turkmenistan’s airspace.
The UAE, Azerbaijan, and Georgia also suspended services for Iranian flights. Flights between Iran and Muscat and Baghdad were halted, while a number of flights from Iran to neighbouring Turkiye were cancelled. Flights from Iran to the popular Shia pilgrimage destination of Najaf in Iraq were also briefly disrupted in late September.
All this was happening against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which had already caused widespread disruption to the country’s international air links. The vast majority of international airlines have yet to resume their services to Iran. Flights to countries including China and Russia have continued despite the latest US measures, but restoring suspended routes will require negotiations with other governments.
More than three weeks after the new aviation sanctions came into effect, routes to destinations including Moscow, Najaf, Istanbul, Yerevan and Guangzhou in China have continued operating. But Iran’s international flight network remains severely restricted. The situation has created major disruption for both people travelling to Iran and those leaving the country.
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