Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) and fellow Lufthansa Group carrier Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna), have both suspended all of their respective flights to Iran until the end of the Winter 2019/2020 season, March 28, as a result of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Over recent days, many other carriers, including Emirates (EK, Dubai International) and airBaltic (BT, Riga), have had to re-route flights around Iranian airspace, with some requiring tech-stops given the added distance involved.
In a statement posted on the German airline's website, and echoed on the Austrian Airlines homepage, Lufthansa said: "Due to the continuing unclear security situation for the airspace around Tehran Imam Khomeini airport and for Iranian airspace, Lufthansa Group airlines are suspending flights to/from Tehran until March 28, 2020, as a precaution."
"Lufthansa Group Security continues to evaluate the security situation for arrivals and departures for Tehran airport and the entire Iranian airspace. As soon as we have detailed information, we will decide whether and when our Iranian flights can be operated again," continued the airline.
Under normal circumstances, Lufthansa would offer a daily A340-300-operated service to the Iranian capital from Frankfurt International. Austrian Airlines also offers a daily service from Vienna to Tehran, with the 1,710-nautical mile (3,167-kilometre) sector being typically operated by its A319-100 and A320-200 fleet. Iran Air flies both city pairs, serving Vienna 2x weekly and Frankfurt 3x weekly.
The Lufthansa statement also clarified that it had re-started its flights to Erbil in Iraq since January 14, while Austrian resumed its flights on January 10.
