International flights at Tehran airport drop 42% after US sanctions
International flights from Tehran airport decreased by 42% following the imposition of US sanctions on the Iranian aviation sector, leading to the suspension of flights to several destinations.
Translated by Qiyas from الأنباء — Original source
Flights in both directions at Tehran’s main international airport have fallen by 42% since the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iranian airlines, although some of the most popular destinations remain in service, according to tracking data. Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on the entire Iranian aviation sector as part of a campaign that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would “choke” Iran economically. Bessent explained, “If these planes land, no one will be able to refuel them, provide services to them, or sell tickets for them, or they will be excluded from the dollar system.” Since the sanctions took effect on September 23, the average number of daily international flights to and from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran has been 53, down from a previous daily average of 91, according to data from the flight-tracking platform Flightradar24. Since air traffic resumed after the war ended, flights departing from Iran have been operated exclusively by domestic airlines. Data from September, the period preceding the ban, showed that a typical week included flights to 18 countries. However, since the sanctions came into force, air travel to Georgia, Oman, and Azerbaijan—destinations that typically had regular flights with Tehran—has completely stopped. Traffic has also declined sharply on other routes.
