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Following in the footsteps of KLM, British Airways and Air France are suspending flights to Iran possibly in response to new US sanctions.

British Airways’ last Tehran flight is scheduled for 22nd of September. The airline commented that “the operation is currently not commercially viable”. In a statement a BA spokesperson told The Independent:

We are sorry for any disruption this may cause to our customers’ travel plans and we are in discussions with our partner airlines to offer customers rebooking options.

Air France is planning to take a similar stance. The airline will offer its final flight between Paris and Tehran earlier in the week on September 18th. KLM meanwhile commented that it was suspending its Tehran route because of “negative results and financial outlook”.

London – Tehran

5 nights a week a British Airways B777 departs London at 21:10. After a 5h 45m flight, the aircraft lands in Tehran, Iran at approximately 6:25. British Airways will operate its last flight to Tehran on the 22nd of September, with the last return flight departing Tehran on the 23rd.

This isn’t the first time British Airways has suspended flights between the two cities. In October 2012, BA suspended flight BA153 for almost 4 years until September 2016. The reason cited at the time was political instability. It is unclear if and when flights between the two nations will resume. A British Always representative said that the decision to suspend the service was not related to new sanctions on Iran put in place by the US.

Paris – Tehran

In contrast Air France operates 1 flight a week to Tehran on Mondays. Utilising its “next generation” subsidiary JOON, the carrier operates AF738 using an Airbus A340. The Air France announcement comes as slightly less of a shock. To start with, the airline had already cut the frequency of its Paris – Tehran flights from 3 per week to 1 per week. Air France also announced previously in May that JOON would only operate flights on the Tehran route during the summer season. Again, the reason was given as poor economic performance.

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Sanctions

In addition to poor financial performance, new sanctions being put into place by the US could also affect operations. President Trump’s administration has said that the United States will sanction businesses that continue to deal with Iran. One such company the could come under fire is Lufthansa. Lufthansa currently operates direct flights from Germany to Tehran in addition to direct flights to the US. If it continues to operate both, the airline itself could be at the mercy of US sanctions.

It is clear that flying to Tehran is not economically viable. Whilst new US sanctions may not have caused this, it certainly won’t help the situation.