Iran resumed commercial flights from Tehran’s international airport Saturday, marking the first time since its war with the US and Israel broke out nearly two months ago.
Passengers were seen standing in line inside Imam Khomeini International Airport while planes departed for Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman, Iran’s state-run television said.
Iran was among at least eight Middle Eastern countries that closed their airspaces on Feb. 28, after the first US-Israeli airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and launched the war.
Neighboring countries — including Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates — resumed commercial flights within 24 to 72 hours of those strikes. But Iran continued to face a barrage of strikes that made reopening Tehran’s airport too risky.
Resuming flights only became possible after the two-week cease-fire with the US brokered by Pakistan on April 8 — and extended by President Trump earlier this week.
Iranian authorities said they have started talks with foreign airlines, as the fragile cease-fire continues.
“Consultations have started with foreign airlines to explain the status of routes and re-absorb flights,” Mohammad Amirani, chief executive of Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company, told state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
“But the increase in the number of these flights will happen in a phased manner.”
Airports on the Iran’s eastern side — which borders Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan — will be prioritized due to safety reasons, Amirani said.
Flights from the central and western region — which borders Iraq — will resume more slowly, he added, based on security assessments.
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