SRINAGAR: Airlines operating from the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar have cancelled several flights to Iran amid escalating nationwide protests, disrupting regional air travel, AFP reported.
According to the Dubai Airports website, at least 17 flydubai flights scheduled between Dubai and the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad were cancelled. A flydubai spokesperson said all flights to Iran planned for Friday had been suspended, adding the carrier would continue to monitor developments and adjust its schedule accordingly.
Flight disruptions were also reported in Qatar, where at least two services between Doha and Tehran were cancelled on Friday, based on information from Hamad International Airport. The airport indicated that services were expected to return to normal on Saturday.
In Turkey, local media reported widespread cancellations, with Turkish Airlines suspending 17 flights to Iran, while AJet cancelled six. Low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines also halted services to Iranian destinations on Friday.
However, flights operated by Iranian airlines, including Iran Air, Mahan Air and Qeshm Air, were continuing as scheduled.
The cancellations come amid ongoing protests across Iran that began in late December, fuelled by deteriorating economic conditions. Similar flight suspensions have occurred during previous periods of unrest, with airlines citing security concerns and communication disruptions, industry sources told AFP.
The move coincided with a near-total communications blackout after Iranian authorities restricted internet access in an attempt to curb the spread of protests. Mobile internet services were limited nationwide from Thursday into Friday, while phone calls to Iran failed to connect and local news websites were updated sporadically.
At least 50 people have been killed in violence linked to the protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iranian state television aired footage overnight showing burning buses, cars and motorbikes, as well as fires at metro stations and banks.
Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on the People’s Mujahedin Organisation, also known as the MKO, an opposition group that broke away following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
