Aegean Airlines (A3, Athens) has become the latest Western carrier to announce its withdrawal from the Iranian market.
The Greek airline said in a statement that it would end its 3x weekly Athens-Tehran Imam Khomeini service effective October 11, 2018.
"The company is forced to temporarily discontinue this route due to foreign exchange bank restrictions that affect its viability," it said.
Following Washington's decision to reimpose economic sanctions against Iran, several European carriers have signalled their respective intentions to withdraw from the Iranian market, citing a lack of premium demand as well as difficulties in remitting fares.
Those that will withdraw from Iran this month include British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France (via Joon (France)), and Austrian Airlines (Esfahan Shahid Beheshti International and Shiraz terminated but service to Tehran will remain).
Carriers from Turkey, an ally of Iran, have already stated they would fill the gap left by the Europeans' withdrawal.
