German airline Lufthansa has suspended its flights to Tehran on Thursday, April 11 (23), as Iran has warned of retaliation following a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Lufthansa and its affiliate Austrian Airlines are the only two Western airlines that fly to Tehran. Most flights to Tehran are operated by Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines.
Since April 1st, when an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, which is suspected to have been carried out by Israeli warplanes, the region and the United States have been on alert.
In a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, German Foreign Minister Analina Birbock has called for “greater tolerance” on all sides and to prevent further escalation of the crisis.
German Lufthansa Airlines said that it has suspended flights to Tehran until April 13.
A spokesperson of Lufthansa company said: “Last week it was decided not to fly to Tehran due to the security situation and the crew of the plane will not stay there.”
Austrian Airlines, which is owned by Lufthansa and flies six times a week from Vienna to Tehran, said it still planned to fly on Thursday, but that the crew would stay overnight in Tehran. Set times to avoid
An Austrian Airlines spokesman said: “The Austrian Airlines flight to Tehran, which was scheduled to take place today, will take off from Vienna several hours late, reducing the time between landing in Tehran and the return flight. Be.”
Also, Emirates and Qatar Airways flights to Europe and North America pass through Iranian airspace.
Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot and Air Arabia are among the airlines that fly to Tehran. Those companies did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on their flights.
Businesses in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey are closed for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, and their flight status has not been revealed.
In a post on the X social network, the German Foreign Ministry said: “Preventing the escalation of tensions in the region should be in everyone’s interest. We call on all actors in the region to act responsibly and Use maximum tolerance.”