IranAir says foreign airlines owe $30M in unpaid service fees

Photo: Ministry of Roads and Urban Development of Iran

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 19. Foreign airlines owe a total of $30 million to IranAir, IranAir chairman and CEO Taher Abdolhai said.

This was announced in a statement by Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.

"Airlines such as Gulf Air, Lufthansa, Asteria, Turkish Airlines, and several others have accumulated debts to IranAir for ground handling services and catering," he explained.

The company executive noted that due to the imposition of sanctions against Iran and the freezing of bank accounts, IranAir is unable to recover these outstanding debts.

Abdollahi added that the issue of Iranian airlines operating flights to European countries isn't solely related to sanctions. This is because technical and regulatory assessments must be conducted, and the necessary licenses must be obtained. Even if the restrictions imposed on Iranian airlines were to be lifted, it would still take some time to complete the required regulatory checks and refine the necessary processes before the airline could launch flights to European destinations.

On September 8, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on 36 entities linked to Iran’s aviation sector, including 27 Iranian airlines. The sanctions also extend to foreign companies that provide aircraft, cargo transport, or agency services to Iranian airlines.