Dubai: Iran lifted a suspension on domestic and international flights from its capital early Monday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency has reported.
The country had imposed restrictions on flights in its airspace over the weekend due to fears of a possible Israeli reprisal following its attacks on Saturday.
Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport resumed operations in Tehran, Iran, citing the Civil Aviation Organisation of Iran.
It was reported that the two mentioned airports started to operate flights on April 15 at 6:00am local time.
Dubai carrier flydubai, which operates multiple daily flights to destinations in Iran, including Tehran, Bandar Abbas, Esfahan, Lar, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tirana, has resumed operations.
A flydubai spokesperson told Gulf News, “flydubai flights are operating to schedule following the opening of airspaces in the region. We are in direct contact with our passengers whose travel plans have been affected.”
As of Monday, April 15, there have been no cancellations or reroutes. However, passengers will have to wait until Wednesday, April 17, to book fresh tickets to many Iranian destinations, as flights for the next two days are operating at capacity.
There are no further cancellations to Beirut, Jordan, Tel Aviv, or Iraq.
Emirates Airlines, which had cancelled some of its fights and rerouted others due to temporary airspace closures in the region, resumed scheduled operations to and from Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq on Sunday afternoon, a spokesperson said. Economy air tickets to Tehran on Emirates are available after April 17.
Qatar Airways also resumed its scheduled services to Iran, which include 20 weekly flights to four gateways - Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz and Isfahan.
"The safety and security of our passengers remains our top priority," the airline said in a statement. Meanwhile, Etihad Airways was planning to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut starting from Monday. UAE’s flag carrier does not have direct operations in Iran.
The airline said in a statement, "Etihad Airways flights only operate through approved airspace and safety is always our highest priority. Etihad would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so, and the airline is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates."
Etihad warned that as services return to normal after the temporary closure of airspace across parts of the Middle East, "there may still be a risk of some knock-on disruption across Monday 15".
Abu Dhabi-headquarted Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has also resumed normal operation following the temporary closure of a number of air spaces in the region. "The airline is closely monitoring the situation with relevant authorities. The safety and security of our passengers and crew remains our number one priority," the airline told Gulf News.
