Iranian airline launching direct flights to Europe amid bans
A private Iranian airline is launching direct flights from Tehran to European destinations amid sanctions targeting other Iranian carriers which ban them from flying to cities in Europe and Britain.
CEO of Iran Airtour said on Sunday that the company will start flying to Paris on January 31 nearly three months after Iran’s flag carrier Iran Air and two other airlines were sanctioned by the European Union and the British government.
Seyyed Reza Mousavi said that Iran Airtour will use its Airbus A300 aircraft for regular weekly flights to Paris on Mondays and Fridays, adding that the airline plans to start flights to three to four other destinations in Europe, including in Germany, Spain and Italy, until the end of the Iranian calendar year in late March.
Mousavi said the airline has been working for the past three years to be able to launch flights to Europe, adding that it has obtained a Third Country Operator authorization from the EU after meeting the bloc’s fleet requirements.
He said Iran Airtour's flights to Paris and other European destinations are expected to be packed with passengers as many have been unable to directly fly to Iran in the past months.
The EU and Britain announced a series of sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector, including bans on flights by Iran Air, Saha Airlines, and Mahan Air, in mid-October over claims that the airlines were involved in the transfer of Iranian weapons to Russia for use in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Iranian authorities have dismissed the allegations while strongly protesting against the aviation bans which they say have only affected the Iranian citizens living and working in Europe.
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