A plane belonging to the Iranian company Mahan Air
Flights by all Iranian airlines to Malaysia will completely stop as of Saturday, August 23, due to impact of sanctions on refueling Iranian planes.
Secretary of Iran's Aviation Companies Association Maghsoud Asadi-Samani told ILNA on Friday that the last Iranian flight to Kuala Lumpur will be operated by Mahan Airlines, which was the only airliner apart from flag carrier Iran Air with the capability of direct flights to Malaysia because of the long distance.
The Iranian company Mahan Air was sanctioned by the US in 2008 for links to the Quds (Qods) Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Noting that Malaysian airports do not provide fuel to Iranian planes anymore, he said that fueling companies at Malaysian airports work with US companies, and these companies have been informed that they will be subject to punitive measures if they keep fueling the Islamic Republic’s planes.
Describing it as yet another blow that hit the country's aviation industry due to the US sanction, he said domestic airlines will lose the revenues of passenger transportation on this route, and “we will lose one of the bases in Southeast Asia.”
Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, demand for this route was high, and two to three flights were made per week, but during the health crisis, flights to Malaysia were temporarily suspended, and after that, there was only one flight per week.