Summary
- Lufthansa has suspended flights between Frankfurt and Tehran, Iran.
- Meanwhile, Austrian Airlines changed the flight schedule on flights to Iran to avoid an overnight layover.
- Tensions have continued between Israel and Iran, further destabilizing the situation in the region.
Amidst rising tensions in the Middle East, with Iran’s Mehr News Agency saying – and later retracting its report – that the airspace above Tehran will be closed, Lufthansa has suspended its flights to the Iranian capital, while Austrian Airlines adjusted its flight schedule.
Lufthansa suspending flights to Iran
In a statement to Simple Flying, a Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed that the airline was forced to suspend its flights between Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA). According to the company’s representative, the flights were canceled temporarily “due to the situation in the region.”
Flightradar24 records showed that Lufthansa last operated flight LH600 from FRA to IKA on April 4, with the subsequent flights on April 6, April 7, April 8, April 10, April 11, and April 13 being canceled. The itinerary is typically operated with an Airbus A340-300, with the assigned aircraft being scheduled to leave FRA at 14:30 (UTC +2) and arrive at IKA at 21:00 (UTC +3.5).
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
In addition to Lufthansa, Iran Air operates flights between the two airports with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with the Iranian carrier also flying from Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) to IKA, with the flights being the only connections between Germany and Iran.
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Austrian Airlines’ changing flight schedules to Iran
Austrian Airlines, the only other European Union (EU)-based airline flying to Iran, has changed its flight schedule to avoid an overnight layover at the Iranian capital, the Austrian carrier’s spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Simple Flying.
“As a precautionary measure, the layover, i.e. the overnight stay in Tehran, will be suspended until Saturday, 13 April. The Vienna-Tehran-Vienna route will be operated without an overnight layover until then. Due to the shorter flight time that Austrian has compared to other airlines from Vienna to Tehran, it is possible to fly Vienna-Tehran-Vienna without a night stop within the legally permitted working hours of the crew.”
Photo: Austrian Airlines
The representative added that the Austrian Airlines flight, which is scheduled to depart Vienna Airport (VIE) on April 11, will leave later than scheduled, minimizing the time between landing and departure from IKA. “The security situation on the ground is monitored around the clock and the flight programme is adapted if necessary,” the spokesperson added.
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Simmering tensions
Following the breakout of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023, tensions have continued to simmer in the Middle East, especially as Iran and its proxies, including the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, became involved in the wider conflict within the region. However, Reuters reported that the Iranian news agency Mehr News said that Iran would close the airspace above Tehran.
Photo: EvrenKalinbacak | Shutterstock
In a follow-up post, the news agency denied that it had released such statements, according to the same Reuters report. Nevertheless, according to the Associated Press (AP), Iranian and Israeli politicians have exchanged threats publicly after Israel struck an Iranian consulate in Syria, killing 12 people, including a senior figure within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is an organization sanctioned by the United States.
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