Iran Air Says Resuming Flights to Europe

Iran Air said Tuesday it would resume flights to Europe, lifting a two-day suspension apparently linked to a ban on the carrier's planes entering European airspace.

"All flights will be resumed except to Vienna, Stockholm and Gothenburg, which have stopped flights due to the coronavirus outbreak," it said in a statement.

The national carrier had suspended flights to Europe on Sunday, citing European "restrictions" imposed for "unknown reasons", without mentioning the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The announcement came as Iran's health ministry reported 54 new deaths from COVID-19, the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the country.

According to several specialized sites, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on February banned some Iran Air aircraft from European airspace.

The ban covered an Airbus A321-200 and two Airbus A330-200 planes that had not undergone necessary software upgrades for authorization to fly in Europe.

The flight resumption announcement came after talks by the Iran Civil Aviation Organisation and the foreign ministry with European officials, Iran Air's statement said.

The carrier, whose fleet was hit by US sanctions reimposed after Washington quit a nuclear deal with Iran, operates flights to multiple European destinations including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rome.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Air Says Suspending Europe Flights

Iran Air on Sunday announced the suspension of all its flights to Europe until further notice, a decision apparently linked to a ban on the carrier's planes from entering European airspace.

The statement issued by the company made no mention of the novel coronavirus epidemic as a cause, citing only "restrictions" imposed by European authorities for "unknown reasons.”

The announcement came as Iran's health ministry reported 49 new deaths from COVID-19, the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the country.

According to several specialized sites, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on February 3 banned Iran Air aircraft from European airspace.

The ban covered an Airbus A321-200 and two Airbus A330-200 planes that had not undergone necessary upgrades for authorization to fly in Europe.

On March 2, however, Sweden announced it was temporarily suspending Iran Air flights on the advice of health officials who said Tehran was "not in control" of the coronavirus outbreak on its soil.

The carrier, whose fleet is hit by US sanctions reimposed after Washington quit a nuclear deal with Iran, operates flights to multiple European destinations including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rome.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Air Appoints New US-Sanctioned CEO

Tehran has appointed a new CEO to head national airline Iran Air, state news reported, replacing its first female CEO with a US-blacklisted pilot.

Touraj Dehghani Zanganeh, a former air force commander who features on a US treasury sanctions list, was named for the post at a Sunday cabinet meeting.

He will replace Farzaneh Sharafbafi, the first Iranian woman to boast a PhD in aerospace, who led the airline for two years.

Zanganeh was previously CEO of Meraj Air, which was also sanctioned by the US early last year.

Individuals on the Specially Designated Nationals List are generally prohibited from having US bank accounts.

Americans can also face civil or criminal penalties for engaging in business dealings with them, according to the US treasury.

Iran Air had been planning to upgrade its aging fleet after long-standing US sanctions were lifted following the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

But when US President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord early last year and reimposed crippling economic sanctions, the treasury department revoked licenses for Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger jets to Iran.

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Iran Air Says Will Receive 5 New ATR Planes on Sunday

Iran Air said Saturday it was set to take delivery of five new planes from Franco-Italian firm ATR just before renewed US sanctions go into effect. 

"Based on existing agreements, five new ATR aircraft will land at Mehrabad Airport at 9 am (0430 GMT) tomorrow (Sunday)," the national carrier said on its Telegram channel. 

The new ATR-72600 planes are part of a deal for 20 new aircraft that Iran Air agreed to buy in April 2017, of which eight have so far been delivered. 

The deal was thrown into doubt by the US decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers and reimpose sanctions, part of which are due to resume from Tuesday. 

Iran says US sanctions are endangering lives by blocking the sale of new planes and spare parts for its aging fleets. 

Iran's Aseman Airlines was ordered to ground its fleet of ATR planes in February after one of them crashed in the Zagros mountains, killing all 66 people onboard. 

Photo Credit: IRNA

Iran, Serbia Resume Direct Flights After 27-Year Gap

After a gap of 27 years, direct flights between Iran and Serbia resumed on Saturday, when an IranAir jet touched down at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport, Serbian media reported.

Iran Air is offering a direct service between Tehran and Belgrade twice weekly, with all flights fully booked until the end of the summer, the reports said.

But the service, which was launched following a visa liberalization agreement between the two countries, has raised fears it could open up a new migrant route for those seeking to stay in the EU illegally, a Serbian charity has warned.

A second Iranian carrier, Qeshm Air, is also planning to launch a service between the two capitals starting from March 19. In August 2017, Iran and Serbia agreed to liberalize visas for travel between the two countries, sparking a surge in interest on the part of Iranians.

According to the Serbian non-governmental refugee support project Info Park, some Iranians are using the visa liberalization agreement to come to Europe and stay there illegally as migrants.

Last month, Info Park said a number of Iranians had arrived in Belgrade legally as tourists but had not returned home, proceeding instead to EU countries, notably France and Germany.

"Although they entered Serbia as tourists, interviews have revealed that many Iranians use their stay in Belgrade to establish connections with smugglers, who will transfer them to their desired destination, across the borders of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary or Romania," Info Park said at the time.

It said those interviewed said they were leaving for a variety of reasons including fears for their rights and freedoms, particularly linked to their political, religious or sexual orientation.

New Migrant Route? 

Info Park said an estimated 600 Iranians could arrive in Belgrade in a single week, based on the current transport capacity. "Seeing as most of these new-arrivals do not intend to return, the migration systems in Europe must recalibrate for this new route and demographic among the migrant populaces," the NGO said.

Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic said authorities in the two countries would investigate possible abuses of the visa liberalization agreement.

Checks would be reinforced in Tehran and various bilateral deals would be signed with the aim of clamping down on illegal migration, the ministry said. Since the visa requirements were lifted, around 7,000 Iranians have travelled to Serbia, of which 485 have applied for asylum, the ministry said.

Serbia was one of the countries on the so-called Balkans route to western Europe, with hundreds of thousands of migrants passing through until the route was shut down at the start of 2016.

In January, the UN's Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said there were around 4,000 migrants currently in Serbia.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons