Iran Halts Tehran-Kuala Lumpur Flights

Iran has ceased flights to Malaysia as fueling companies at Malaysian airports have been told that they will be subject to US punitive measures if they continue to fuel Iranian planes.  “Companies in Malaysian airports have American partners who have warned them against providing fuel to Iranian airlines. Since Tehran-Kuala Lumpur flights are long distance and airplanes need to be refueled, continuing these flights are no longer possible,” Secretary of Airline Companies Association Maqsoud Asadi-Samani was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.

The flights were previously operated by Mahan Airlines, but Asadi-Samani says travelers need to travel on this route via foreign airlines. The Kuala Lumpur-Tehran flight reportedly had two to three flights per week before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. After the travel sector reopened, Mahan Air retained a weekly service, flight W583, between Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia may now take over the eight-hour route from Mahan Air to circumvent the sanction. As the Rakyat Post reported, It’s not the first time that Malaysia has been caught in the crossfire. In 2010, Petronas had to stop supplying gasoline to Iran due to the threat of US sanctions on oil firms. In 2019, a tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil had to lie offshore in Malaysia due to oil trading restrictions on Iran. - Financial Tribune