Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and AJet cancel Iran flights as US sanctions bite
Turkey's national carrier, Turkish Airlines, and budget airlines AJet and Pegasus have cancelled flights to and from Iran from 21 September as US sanctions take effect, a review by Middle East Eye indicates.
The Turkish Airlines and AJet websites have no flights to Iran until March, while Pegasus appears to have removed all flights to the country from its booking system for the foreseeable future.
Iran International reported that a Turkish Airlines representative told the channel there was no guarantee flights would resume even after March 2027.
A person familiar with the issue told MEE that US Treasury sanctions on Iran's aviation sector were so severe that Turkish carriers had been forced to suspend their flights.
The person said that while restrictions on US-manufactured aircraft, such as Boeing planes, were understandable, the new sanctions also prevented Airbus aircraft from flying to Iran because they contained American-made components.
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The carriers had no other choice, the person added.
A Turkish official said that as of Monday, Mahan Air was the only Iranian carrier barred from flying to Turkey, leaving other Iranian airlines free to maintain services between the two countries for now.
Turkey and Iran have maintained a stable relationship and extensive energy and commercial ties despite successive rounds of US sanctions on Tehran. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a different approach since US President Donald Trump moved to tighten economic pressure on Iran.
Over the weekend, Turkey revoked the banking licence of Iran's Bank Mellat, which had operated in the country for decades.
Turkey's banking regulator also took over Golden Global Investment Bank last week after the US imposed sanctions on the institution for allegedly transferring funds to the Iranian government.
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