Foreign airlines, including Malaysia’s AirAsia and Britain’s BMI, are ceasing services to Iran amid its mounting economic problems spurred on by Western sanctions. AirAsia announced it was suspending its four flights a week between Kuala Lumpur and Tehran from next Sunday because of challenging business conditions, notably the “volatility of the Iranian currency”. BMI will halt its flights from Saturday because of its full takeover by British Airways, a spokeswoman for the parent airline told AFP in London, adding that “customers will be offered a full refund”. Travel agents in Tehran said Georgian Airways was also considering halting its four weekly flights, but there was no confirmation from the airline itself. Some major Western airlines were continuing to fly to Tehran, though, namely Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, KLM and Alitalia. Austrian said in a statement that “we plan to continue our flights VIE-THR-VIE up to five times a week,” and dismissed rumours that they would stop. Iran’s economy is being roiled by Western sanctions that have exacerbated underlying problems such as high inflation and unemployment. Last week, the Iranian riyal collapsed, losing 40 per cent of its value from the previous week. The government has tried to impose a fixed rate for dollars in the previously freely traded open market, but money traders in central Tehran said they were refusing to apply that rate. Iran’s government has capped their rate at 28,500 riyals to the dollar. Black market dealers were surreptitiously offering dollars at the rate of 32,000 riyals.
GMT 00:49 2018 Wednesday ,24 January
Positive aviation sentiments fuel MRO industry's growthGMT 00:21 2018 Wednesday ,24 January
UAE airports face less stress from new US cargo regulationsGMT 20:06 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Pakistan offers visa on arrival to tourists from 24 countriesGMT 22:40 2018 Monday ,22 January
RAK Police air wing carry out 135 rescue operationsGMT 21:59 2018 Monday ,22 January
Honduras roads blocked in protestsGMT 19:22 2018 Monday ,22 January
Accidents, traffic jams clog Dubai roadsGMT 17:34 2018 Monday ,22 January
Man charged for assaulting police officer at Dubai airportGMT 17:03 2018 Monday ,22 January
Gulf Air launches Bahrain tourist visa serviceMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor