Amid escalating US-Iran hostilities, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority has quietly suspended all passenger and cargo flights operated by Iranian airlines to and from the Emirates. The measure—confirmed in a GCAA notice to airmen circulated on 30 September—affects Iran Airtour, Mahan Air and a dozen smaller carriers that together ran around 80 weekly rotations into Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah. Gulf News reports that the suspension is “until further notice” and follows a series of U.S. Treasury sanctions on Iranian aviation assets as well as drone and missile attacks earlier this year that temporarily closed UAE airspace. Airlines headquartered in the UAE may still overfly Iran but must adhere to updated risk-mitigation procedures, including higher cruising altitudes and real-time threat monitoring. For expatriate staff and project teams commuting between the UAE and Iran, travel now involves multi-leg journeys via Muscat, Doha or Istanbul—adding both cost and visa complexity. Supply-chain planners in the construction and petrochemicals sectors, which depend on quick access to Iranian engineers, are urging clients to budget extra lead-time for mobilisations. The ban also hits Dubai’s aviation-leasing cluster: several Iranian carriers wet-lease aircraft from UAE-based lessors, who now face parked assets and insurance-coverage reviews. Legal advisers recommend auditing lease clauses for force-majeure and sanctions triggers to minimise exposure. GCAA says it will keep the suspension “under constant review” in coordination with the Ministry of Defence and international regulators.
Source: Gulf News
