Iran resumes commercial flights from Tehran airport

Commercial flights resume for the first time since the conflict with the US and Israel began about two months ago.Iran has resumed commercial flights from the capital Tehran’s international airport for the first time since the United States and Israel attacked the country two months ago.Iran’s state-run television reported that flights for Istanbul, Muscat and the Saudi Arabian city of Medina took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Jet fuel shortage: Why Iran war could ground flights in Europelist 2 of 4EU eyes options as Iran conflict threatens jet fuel shortageslist 3 of 4Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights as Iran war causes jet fuel shortagelist 4 of 4How Iran war has triggered soaring cost of medicinesend of listIran’s state-owned carrier, Iran-air" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="114512" data-entity-type="organization">Iran Air, operated its inaugural flight from Tehran to the second-largest city of Mashhad after a 56-day hiatus, state-run IRNA news service said in a series of Telegram posts, adding that more flights are scheduled for Baku, Najaf, Baghdad and Doha in the coming days.Mohammad Amirani, CEO of the Iran-airports-and-air-navigation-company" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="120573" data-entity-type="organization">Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company, said the country’s eastern side – which borders Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan – will be prioritised for domestic and transit flights.Provincial airports, including Mashhad, Zahedan, Kerman, Yazd and Birjand, are slated to become nodes for directing air traffic, IRNA said. Authorities said they had started consultations with foreign airlines to clarify routes and to re-attract transit flights as a fragile ceasefire with the US continues, while efforts for more talks between Tehran and Washington continue in Pakistan.The US-Israel war on Iran roiled international air travel for weeks, forcing much of the Middle East’s airspace to shut down and leaving tens of thousands of travellers scrambling to return home.Even as dozens of countries organised chartered flights to repatriate their citizens, their efforts were stymied by the near-shutdown of commercial aviation in one of the world’s busiest regions for air travel.