Iran Air can keep flying to Heathrow, Frankfurt and Paris despite sanctions

Air service arrangements have been cancelled but the airline has a 12-month notice period

An Iran Air Airbus A330 landing at London's Heathrow Airport in 2022. Getty

At 3.10pm on Thursday, flight IR711 from Tehran is due to land at London's Heathrow Airport, one of two scheduled flights this week, despite sanctions on Iran's main carrier announced by Britain on Tuesday.

In fact, Iran Air can potentially keep flying to the UK, France and Germany for the next year, even though new sanctions imposed on Tehran by these countries include ending direct air travel with Iran.

These three countries imposed the sanctions as part of a broader push, together with the US, to punish Iran over accusations it has provided Russia with ballistic missiles for the war against Ukraine.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the “announcement sees the cancellation of the air services arrangements with Iran”. But it added that “this sees the start of a 12-month notice period to work towards restricting Iran Air from flying into the UK”.

The Foreign Office told The National: “It is internationally established practice that air services arrangements should be accorded time to wind down, and a 12-month period is the norm”.

As well as two flights a week from Heathrow, Iran Air currently operates direct routes to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Milan, Rome and Paris.

The airline's operations appear to be continuing as normal after the announcement, with flights operating on Wednesday from Frankfurt and Hamburg to Tehran. Flights are also due to operate from Paris to Tehran on Friday.

The flight restrictions risk further isolating Iran and its diaspora after many European carriers suspended flights to the country.

The carrier has faced restrictions for decades as a result of US sanctions that prevent Tehran from importing civilian aircraft and parts from international companies such as Boeing and Airbus.

Most of the airline’s fleet was banned from the EU over safety concerns from 2010 to 2016. It has also faced refuelling restrictions that have occasionally forced its planes to make additional stops during longer flights.

In addition, the US Treasury has imposed more sanctions on Iran Air, as well as ships and companies that it said were involved in supplying Moscow with Iranian weapons.

“Iran Air has a history of transporting goods on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics,” said the US Treasury.

About 1.8 million people flew between Europe and Iran last year, with seven in 10 travellers on flights from Iran taking connecting flights, particularly through Istanbul, according to the Simple Flying aviation news website.

In the past many European airlines – including British Airways, KLM and Air France – flew to Iran, but most services ended in 2018, mainly due to the consequences of sanctions.