US aviation sanctions disrupt Iran flights, push travellers overland

Tehran, Iran – Travel is becoming increasingly tough for Iranian civilians as United States sanctions shut domestic airlines out of much of the world's airspace and international carriers continue to avoid the country.

Key points

• Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the Trump administration of "bullying".
• The US Department of the Treasury designated 27 airlines on September 8, covering the remaining Iranian carriers that had not previously been sanctioned by Washington.
• Recent designations have additionally targeted individuals and entities linked to aviation backing and procurement in the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, China, India, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and elsewhere.
• In Iraq, Baghdad Airport was declared off-limits to Iranian carriers, but flights to Najaf Airport were still operating on Wednesday.
• According to Ebrahimpour, the International Civil Aviation Agency and other organisations have failed to offer any tangible protection to Iran's aviation industry during years of sanctions.

Meanwhile, the US Department of the Treasury designated 27 airlines on September 8, covering the remaining Iranian carriers that had not previously been sanctioned by Washington. Major names like Iran Air and Mahan are among those already heavily sanctioned, but have continued limited operations.

Airports and firms that provide Iranian-operated aeroplanes with fuel, landing services, or ticket sales risk secondary US sanctions that could cut them off from the US financial system, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Monday. It is the latest attempt to squeeze Iran and force it to create concessions against the backdrop of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Wednesday marked the expiry of a short wind-down period allowing countries to stop servicing Iranian carriers, leading to the cancellation of all but a handful of Iranian flights to Turkiye, UAE and China.

Aviation authorities in a number of neighbouring countries that had continued to allow Iranian airlines to apply their airspace and airport services would no longer be providing them, including Oman, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. In Iraq, Baghdad Airport was declared off-limits to Iranian carriers, but flights to Najaf Airport were still operating on Wednesday.

Plenty of flights between Iran and major transit hubs in Turkiye and the UAE had already been suspended as of the war and sanctions. International airlines have additionally largely ceased flying to Iran, with Turkish Airlines suspending flights until at least March 2027, and Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Lufthansa's operations additionally suspended. 'A new level' of sanctions.

Iran-based aviation and transit expert Mohammadreza Ebrahimpour remarked years of US sanctions had already forced Iranian airlines to rely on third countries and work with smaller firms to secure fuel or services. Obtaining spare parts needed to keep Iran's ageing aircraft flying has additionally become increasingly challenging.

But the decision by aviation authorities in neighbouring countries to formally refuse services to Iranian airlines constituted "a new level of sanctions in action" that could have longer-lasting consequences, he informed Al Jazeera.

Ebrahimpour remarked the US had additionally effectively prohibited international airlines from flying through Iranian airspace by suspending authorisations for some US-origin aircraft to fly to Iran and limiting US-linked overflight payments.

"This is a big blow because payments for overflights were one of the most lucrative parts of aviation industry, which could act as a support for developing infrastructure and the overall industry, " Ebrahimpour remarked, adding that Iran earned more than $300m a year from this.

Beyond the effect on civilian passengers and the import of some goods, the measures could put tens of thousands of jobs at risk throughout the aviation sector and related industries, including tourism and hospitality.

According to Ebrahimpour, the International Civil Aviation Agency and other organisations have failed to offer any tangible protection to Iran's aviation industry during years of sanctions. Iranian authorities, he remarked, would probable consider China and Russia among the few countries potentially able to provide assistance.

Although some of their more globally connected financial networks and firms have, at times, distanced themselves from Iran to avoid secondary sanctions, the two countries have rejected US sanctions against Iran. Under pressure from all fronts.

Meanwhile, the flight cancellations have pushed thousands of travellers towards land crossings, particularly those with Turkiye and Armenia, where onward international flights remain available for Iranians. Heavy congestion has been documented in recent days at the Bazargan and Razi border crossings with Turkiye and along land routes to the Armenian capital Yerevan.

But everyday passenger travel overland into Azerbaijan remains restricted, with Azerbaijan's administration citing internal security and COVID-19 restrictions. Consequently, Iranians cannot cross overland into Azerbaijan to catch a flight there.

Notably, the Shalamcheh and Chazabeh border crossings with Iraq were additionally temporarily closed earlier this month, leaving travellers stranded, before reopening to passengers on September 13.

For thousands of Iranians attempting to travel, the flight suspensions mean significantly longer journeys. Some members of the Iranian diaspora have expressed concern online that the lingering effects of war and sanctions could potentially prevent them from visiting parents and other family members in Iran.

Bus tickets from Iran to Turkiye have reportedly sold for quadruple their normal cost on the black market against the backdrop of surging demand.

Some of the individuals making the journey are young Iranians who are attempting to take international language tests that are not allowed to be administered inside Iran due to sanctions. The tests are often a prerequisite for anyone planning to study, work, or settle abroad.

Iranian academics have additionally expressed concern concerning growing isolation from the international academic community. Numerous universities throughout the globe, including in Norway, Australia, Singapore, Estonia and elsewhere, have in recent weeks rejected postgraduate and research applications from Iranians as of US education sanctions.

Meanwhile, plenty of of Iran's roughly 90 million residents are at present unable to afford international travel – or even domestic flights – as the country's economic conditions worsen.

In practice, the Trump administration has portrayed the war and sanctions as measures directed at the Iranian authorities.

Notably, the US Treasury has remarked its aviation restrictions are intended to disrupt the apply of Iranian commercial aviation for weapons procurement and transportation, including activities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). After almost seven months of war, has additionally had sweeping consequences for affected civilians, but the designation of entire airlines under "Operation Economic Outcast".

Iran's international aviation network was already badly damaged prior to the latest package of sanctions. According to Aviation analytics firm Cirium, international capacity in August 2026 was 49 percent lower than in August 2025, despite a modest recovery from July.

While war and sanctions have caused disruptions and delays to road and rail cargo routes, the latest flight cancellations are additionally anticipated to further disrupt imports by air at a time when the US naval blockade of Iran's southern ports in the Strait of Hormuz has constrained maritime trade routes.

Some of Iran's medical imports enter the country by air, raising reservations that the latest aviation restrictions could place more pressure on an already struggling healthcare sector. A domestic pharmaceutical firm executive informed Al Jazeera earlier this month that the cost of some imported supplies, some of which arrived by air, had risen as much as 10-fold since of sanctions, wider economic pressure, and war damage.

"They have tested Iran's resilience, and now they know full well that Iran cannot be forced to surrender through war, " Pezeshkian remarked.

In short, US aviation sanctions disrupt Iran flights, push travellers overland is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.