Two European Airlines Halt Service to Tehran – Citing Lack of Demand

European airlines KLM and Austrian Airlines said today they were halting their flights to Iran due to lack of demand. KLM will suspend its Amsterdam-Tehran service starting April 2013. KLM started its service to Tehran 65 years ago. Austrian Airlines, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa, will cancel its Vienna-Tehran service on Sunday. 

The value of the national currency, the rial, has lost two thirds of its value against dollar in the last year, making ticket prices on European airliners, quoted in dollar, expensive.

German carrier Lufthansa and Italy’s Alitalia will remain the only two European carriers with regular service to Tehran.

File Photo: KLM Boeing 737 (planespotters.net)

Iran Airlines to Raise Prices by 50%

Iranian airlines are to raise the price of flights by as much as 50 percent by next month, Mehr News Agency reported. The move is backed by Majlis. A spokesman for the parliament’s planning committee said the airlines have high costs that “must be met.” The plummeting rial has significantly pushed up prices in the country.

File photo: An Iran Air plane at Tehran's airport. IRNA

Iran’s Aging Airliner Fleet Seen as Faltering Under U.S. Sanctions - NYT

After 17 years of U.S. sanctions that have prevented Iran from buying new Western planes and spare parts, the country’s civilian aircraft are far past their normal years of service and rarely a year goes by without major airline accidents. Most Iranian planes are forbidden to operate within the EU for safety reasons. Anger over sanctions.

To read the New York Times article, please click here.

Antonov-158 to Join Iran Passenger Fleet

Iran will purchase a fleet of the new Ukrainian Antonov-158 passenger planes to modernize its very old passenger fleet of US, European and Russian aircraft. An-158 is a 99-passenger variation of An-148 regional twinjet, with a range of 2,500km.

“Studies have shown that Antonov-158 suits Iran's climatic conditions and has been test-flown in certain parts of the country,” said Manouchehr Manteqi, the Managing director of Iran's Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO).

Ukraine’s Antonov-158 at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport during a demonstration ceremony. 2 October 2011

Iran Retaliates Against Europe’s Refusal to Refuel Its Planes

Iran has stopped refueling Western planes landing in the country in retaliation to Europe’s refusal to refuel Iranian planes.

"Recently fuel supply for Iranian passenger planes flying to Europe was stopped," Iran’s Vice President Mohammed Reza Rahimi said. "Iran decided immediately to strike back and banned supply of fuel to Western passenger planes landing in Iran" [IRNA, 13 April].

Even though EU sanctions against Iran do not include jet fuel, but the US sanctions cover the fuel, and the European oil companies have refused the sale of jet fuel to Iranian airliners in recognition of US sanctions.

Some Iranian airlines still operate their routes to Western Europe destinations, but make extra stops at Prague and Budapest for refueling. The Russian oil companies in those airports still refuel Iranian planes.

In December 2010, Iran filed a grievance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) over European refusal to refuel its airliners. But ICAO ruled that the issue must be resolved by member states themselves.

Airports Ban Refueling by Iranian Planes - UPDATE

Iran’s air transport officials are reporting that since last week airports in Britain, Germany, UAE and Kuwait have refused to refuel Iranian passenger planes.

"Since last week, after the passing of the unilateral law by America and the sanctions against Iran, airports in England, Germany, the UAE have refused to give fuel to Iranian planes," said Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of Iranian Airlines Union [ISNA, 5 July].

IRNA had earlier reported the ban on refueling in Kuwait. Iran Air and Mahan Air are the two airlines with extensive regional and European flights which have been hit hard by the move.

UPDATE: The government spokesmen for Britain, Germany and UAE have denied the reports published by Iranian news agencies ISNA and IRNA that their airports have banned refueling Iranian passenger planes.

UPDATE II: Despite denial by government sources in Europe and the UAE, the Iranian news agencies are still keeping the news of refueling ban on their top pages.

UPDATE III. The oil companies, like the BP in Britain, are the ones who are refusing to refuel Iranian planes. A BP spokesman was quoted by the Times of London as saying: "We fully comply with any international sanctions imposed in countries where we operate."