According to Bloomberg's report on September 23, Iranian airlines continued to operate international flights on Wednesday, ignoring the deadlines set by the United States. The United States is trying to force this Middle Eastern country's aviation fleet to ground their services by sanctioning companies that provide services to Iranian airlines.
A few hours after the new restrictions in the United States took effect, flight tracking website Flightradar24 reported that approximately 6 flights were departing from Iran, heading to destinations such as Thailand, China, and Afghanistan.
Iran's largest airport and major international aviation hub—Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport—still has regular flights to international destinations such as China, Turkey, Dubai, and Iraq's Najaf.
The latest round of sanctions against Iran's aviation industry by the United States has put airport operators and companies that provide refueling and other services to Iranian airlines at risk of facing secondary sanctions. However, the implementation of these sanctions and the regulation of violations themselves can be challenging.
Earlier that day, the president of the Thai Airport Company stated that the company was unable to prevent flights that complied with international procedures from operating.
Pavina Jariyatipong said: 'We have not received any regulations or instructions from the Thai government or ministry of foreign affairs. Therefore, we can only accept these flights.' If the Thai authorities issue relevant instructions, the airport may still suspend these flights.
Thailand's Civil Aviation Authority Deputy Director General Sarun Boonjaranit said that the regulatory body has not received any instructions to stop the related flights, including those from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since the war began in February this year, Iran Airways has maintained a limited network of routes. Subsequently, no foreign airlines resumed flights to Iran. Among the countries that maintain aviation connections with Iran, only the civil aviation authorities of Georgia and Azerbaijan officially announced a complete ban on Iran Airways' operations.
Iranian news agency Tasnim reported on Tuesday that, following instructions from local authorities, the Iranian civil aviation department has suspended flights from Tehran to Baghdad in Iraq and Muscat in Oman. At the same time, efforts are being made to reroute flights originally scheduled to fly to Baghdad to Najaf. Najaf is of religious significance to Shia Muslims.
Mahan Air last week announced that, as instructed by local authorities, it will suspend all flights to Turkey and Oman indefinitely. Despite being sanctioned by the United States due to its connections with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Mahan Air, Iran’s second-largest airline, continues to operate domestic and international routes.
On Wednesday, Mahan Air had at least 6 international flights in operation. Of these, 3 flights went to China, 2 flights went to Thailand, and 1 flight went to Afghanistan. Vareš Airlines and IranAir Tourism Company's flights were headed to the Turkish vacation city of İzmir.
A subsequent inquiry revealed that at least 7 Iranian commercial flights were scheduled to depart from Tehran to Istanbul, including flights operated by the state-owned Iranian airline Iran Air. Iran Air stated on Tuesday that they had not received any notices of flight bans.
On Wednesday, out of 24 flights scheduled to depart Tehran and arrive at Istanbul's main international airport, 6 flights were cancelled that day. However, most flights continued to operate as normal.
American Treasury Secretary Steven T. Bisonet said in an interview with CNBC this week that starting from Wednesday, sanctions will prevent foreign airports from providing refueling, ticketing, and other services to Iranian airlines, resulting in “all Iranian airlines being grounded worldwide.” He stated that companies that ignore these sanctions “will be kicked out of the US dollar system.”
Regarding this, Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated: China has always opposed illegal unilateral sanctions that lack legal basis under international law and authorization from the United Nations Security Council.
