The United Kingdom has slapped sanctions on IranAir (IR, Tehran Mehrabad) over its alleged involvement in the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia. As a result, the Iranian airline has suspended its last existing scheduled route to Europe beyond Türkiye.
The decision follows the September 2024 termination of the bilateral air services agreement between the UK and Iran. In mid-October, the Council of the European Union imposed its own sanctions on IranAir, which forced the airline to cancel all flights to the EU.
IranAir called the sanctions "baseless" but conceded that it will not be able to serve London Heathrow for the time being. Its chief executive, Shamsuddin Farzadipour, promised that all affected passengers will be refunded, although he admitted that the process could take time due to sanctions imposed on the Iranian financial system and difficulties in repatriating funds from foreign agents.
Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that the last flight from Tehran Imam Khomeini was operated on November 17, 2024, using one of the carrier's two A330-200s, EP-IJA (msn 1540). IranAir connected Tehran and Heathrow 3x weekly.
Following the suspension of the route, there are no more scheduled flights between the EU/UK and Iran, as no British or European carrier operates to the country for the time being. IranAir continues to serve destinations in Türkiye and Baku Heydar Aliev International in terms of its broader European network. It said that it would leverage its Istanbul Airport flights to provide the best possible opportunities for Iranian passengers to reach Europe or fly back to Iran.
