CEO: Air Traffic Surges as Austrian, Lufthansa Resume Flights

Date: 24 February 2025 - 22:19

News ID: ۱۳۷۲۶۸

THERAN - Iran’s main international airport has reported an uptick in passenger traffic as Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa resume flights after a months-long break caused by military tensions in the region.
CEO of the Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA), located to the southwest of the Iranian capital Tehran, said on Sunday that passenger traffic in the airport had increased by 5.3% year on year in the 11 months to February 18 to reach more than 7.380 million.
Saeed Chalandari said that the number of international passenger flights to and from the airport had reached 47,486 in the 11 months to late February, an increase of 4.8% from the same previous period.
Chalandari said that cargo flights to and from IKA had also increased by more than 69% over the same period.
The Iranian transportation ministry official said that major international airlines would resume flights to Iran months after they stopped their services because of military tensions between the country and the Israeli regime.
He said that Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines would resume flights to and from IKA on March 1 and March 2, respectively.
The flights will come after a two-month Notam (Notice to Airmen) issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) warning about the safety risks of overflying the Iranian airspace expired on January 31.
The resumption of flights by Austrian and German flag carriers also comes amid an EU ban on flights by Iran’s major airlines to European airports, causing an increase in demand for direct flights between Iran and Europe by other airlines.
Passengers have been forced to use connection flights via Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to travel between Iran and Europe since the EU sanctions were announced in mid-October.