Travel between Iran and its neighbours has become slower, more expensive and far less reliable after a new round of United States sanctions. In late September, a passenger could fly directly from Tehran to Dubai in under three hours for between $100 and $200. Less than a month later, the same journey can take as long as 18 hours and cost more than $1,000.
The shift follows US measures aimed at Iranian airlines and the foreign companies that service them. Restrictions tightened after a September 23 deadline for firms to stop serving Iranian carriers. That led to direct flights between Iran and the United Arab Emirates being suspended, along with a number of routes to other countries.
Washington widens pressure on Iran’s air links
The United States has sought to cut off routes into and out of Iran and to limit access to the country more broadly. In August, Washington announced a campaign it called Operation Economic Outcast, designed to add pressure by targeting the few parts of Iran’s economy still connected to the global system.
As part of that campaign, the US sanctioned 27 airlines operating in Iran. Airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling providers and other foreign firms working with Iranian carriers were warned that they could face secondary sanctions, which could separate them from the US financial system.
The first visible sign came on September 24. An Iranian flight travelling from Tehran to Dushanbe was forced to turn back mid-journey after Turkmenistan refused it permission to enter its airspace. Other countries soon followed. The UAE, Azerbaijan and Georgia suspended services for Iranian flights, while routes to Muscat and Baghdad were halted and several flights to Turkiye were cancelled.
Flights to Najaf in Iraq, a popular Shia pilgrimage destination, were also briefly disrupted in late September.
Wartime damage adds to the aviation crisis
The sanctions arrived against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which had already widely disrupted the country’s international air links. The vast majority of foreign airlines have not yet resumed services to Iran.
Flights to countries including China and Russia have continued despite the latest measures. Restoring the suspended routes, however, will require negotiations with other governments.
More than three weeks after the aviation sanctions took effect, routes to Moscow, Najaf, Istanbul, Yerevan and Guangzhou in China were still operating. Even so, Iran’s international flight network remains severely restricted.
Travellers describe costly and stressful journeys
Amir, 43, who lives in the US state of Illinois, described the difficulties his ailing mother has faced in trying to travel to Iran. “My mother lives in the United States, but her medical records are in Iran,” he said. He added that her medical appointments had been delayed for months because of the war.
The family had planned a trip to Iran so she could receive treatment during a period of relative calm. After the new sanctions were announced, flights were disrupted. Amir said they now have to fly to Istanbul and wait there for hours, or even days, until a connecting flight to Iran becomes available. He also said buying Iranian airline tickets from abroad had become difficult because of the sanctions.
“Making such a journey is extremely stressful for a woman travelling alone who is also ill. It is completely unfair.”
A second traveller, also named Amir, is an Iranian national who flies regularly between Iran and Oman for work. He said the sanctions had caused financial losses beyond the flight disruptions. “Beyond the other financial losses caused by the sanctions, flight cancellations have added another layer of difficulty to our lives,” he said. Trips between Muscat and Tehran now take several times longer and cost several times more than before. “It is unclear when the situation will change, or whether it will improve at all.”
Ticket sales and official response in Iran
The sanctions have also hit travel inside Iran’s own market. Majid Hosseini-Nejad, founder of Alibaba Travel Group, one of the country’s largest online platforms for booking flights and accommodation, said in an interview that the measures had affected ticket sales. “As a result of the recent sanctions, around 20 percent of the flights operating from Iran to international destinations have been suspended,” Hosseini-Nejad said.
He said the decline in flights had reduced revenue for ticket-booking services, and that airline revenues had also fallen significantly because of the sanctions.
On October 11, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said its Department of Economic Affairs was continuing efforts to facilitate Iranian flights to destinations in other countries. Even so, flights to and from Iran continue to face lengthy delays, last-minute cancellations and, in some cases, diversions back to their departure points. For now, travellers have little clarity about when conditions might improve.
