Iran Resumes Commercial Flights from Tehran Airport as Ceasefire Holds
Iran has resumed commercial flights from the capital Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport for the first time since the United States and Israel attacked the country approximately two months ago, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. The resumption marks a significant step toward normalization as the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran continues to hold.
Iran’s state-run television reported that flights bound for Istanbul, Muscat, and the Saudi Arabian city of Medina have taken off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. Iran Air, the country’s state-owned carrier, operated its inaugural domestic flight from Tehran to the second-largest city of Mashhad after a 56-day hiatus. The state-run IRNA news service announced in a series of Telegram posts that additional flights to Baku, Najaf, Baghdad, and Doha are scheduled for the coming days.
Mohammad Amirani, CEO of the Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company, said the country’s eastern region — bordering Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan — will be prioritized for domestic and transit flights. Authorities have begun consultations with foreign airlines to clarify routes and re-attract transit traffic as the ceasefire continues and efforts toward further negotiations between Tehran and Washington proceed.
The U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran had severely disrupted international air travel for weeks, forcing much of the Middle East’s airspace to close or reroute flights. The resumption of commercial flights is being viewed as a key milestone in the return to normalcy following the ceasefire agreement.
Provincial airports, including Mashhad, Zahedan, Kerman, Yazd, and Birjand, are slated to become nodes for directing air traffic as the aviation sector gradually rebuilds its operations.
Source: Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera Video