Tehran: Deutsche Lufthansa AG has suspended services to Tehran amid an escalation in tensions in the Middle East.
The German flag carrier said that the halt began on April 6 and will continue until April 13, according to a spokeswoman. The airline’s Frankfurt-Tehran service requires an overnight layover for crews.
Austrian Airlines, owned by Lufthansa, flies to Iran from Vienna in same-day return service and is scheduled to operate Thursday evening, according to FlightRadar24.
Tensions in the Middle East are soaring after the US warned that possible missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against Israel were imminent, in retaliation for an attack on a diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus last week that killed senior Iranian military officials.
The German carrier was the first foreign airline to resume flights to Israel in January after suspending the service in the wake of of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
An Iranian news agency had published an Arabic report on the social media platform X saying all airspace over Tehran had been closed for military drills, but then removed the report and denied issuing such news.
Call for maximum restraint
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian to call for “maximum restraint” on all sides and avoiding further escalation.
Lufthansa said it had suspended flights to and from Tehran until probably April 13, extending its suspension by two days, to avoid its crew having to disembark to spend the night in the Iranian capital.
“Last weekend it was decided not to operate a flight to Tehran with a layover for the crew due to the security situation,” a spokesperson said. “On the route, the crew has to spend the night in Tehran before the return flight to Frankfurt.
We want to avoid disembarking for safety reasons.” Austrian Airlines, which is owned by Lufthansa and flies from Vienna to Tehran six times a week, said it was still planning to fly on Thursday but was adjusting timings to avoid an overnight layover.
“The Austrian Airlines flight to Tehran scheduled for today will take place, but will depart from Vienna several hours late in order to minimise the time between landing and departure in Tehran,” a spokesperson said.
“Avoiding further regional escalation must be in everyone’s interest. We urge all actors in the region to act responsibly and exercise maximum restraint,” the German foreign ministry said in a post on X.
