US sanctions face Iranians with flight cancellations and increased costs

New US aviation sanctions are forcing Iranians to take longer and more expensive trips as international flight routes disappear.

As of late September, passengers could still fly directly from Tehran to Dubai in less than three hours, with a ticket costing between $100 and $200.

Less than a month later, making the same trip can take up to 18 hours and cost more than $1,000.

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At the bottom of the list, this change is the result of a new round of US sanctions targeting Iranian airlines and foreign companies that provide services to them. The restrictions were tightened after a September 23 deadline for companies to stop serving Iranian companies, leading to the suspension of direct flights between Iran and the UAE, as well as a number of other countries.

The United States has sought to block Iran's entry and exit routes and, more broadly, to limit access to the country. In August, the United States announced Operation Economic Denial as a means of increasing pressure on Iran, targeting the few sectors of the Iranian economy that are still connected to the global economy.

As part of this campaign, the United States has sanctioned 27 airlines operating in Iran. Airports, fuel suppliers, ground handling providers and other foreign companies that work with Iranian airlines have been threatened with secondary sanctions, potentially cutting them off from the U.S. system.

The first indication of the impact of the new sanctions was on September 24, when an Iranian flight traveling from Tehran to Dushanbe was forced to turn back mid-journey and return to Tehran after being denied entry into Turkmenistan's airspace.

UAE, Azerbaijan and Georgia also suspended flights to Iran. Flights between Iran and Muscat and Baghdad were stopped and a number of flights from Iran to neighboring Turkey were cancelled. Iranian flights to the Shiite pilgrimage destination of Najaf in Iraq were also briefly disrupted in late September.

All of this was taking place against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which had already caused widespread disruption to the country's international airlines. The vast majority of international airlines have not yet resumed their services to Iran.

Flights to countries including China and Russia have continued despite the latest U.S. measures, but restoring suspended routes will require negotiations with other governments.

More than three weeks after the new aviation sanctions came into effect, routes to destinations including Moscow, Najaf, Istanbul, Yerevan and Guangzhou in China continued to operate. But Iran's international flight network is still severely limited.

This situation has created major disturbances both for people who travel to Iran and for those who leave the country.

43-year-old Amir, who lives in the state of Illinois in the United States, described the challenges his sick mother was facing. Trying to travel to Iran.

He said: "My mother lives in America, but her medical documents are in Iran." "For months, his medical appointments have been delayed due to the war and the conditions it has created.

A few weeks ago we decided to take advantage of the relative calm and travel to Iran so that he could receive medical care. But after that, new sanctions were announced, which practically disrupted flights to Iran.

Amir said: Now we have to fly to Istanbul to reach Iran and wait there for several hours or even days depending on when there is a flight to Iran, and it has been difficult to buy plane tickets to Iran from abroad due to international sanctions.

Making such a trip is very stressful for a woman who is traveling alone and is also sick. This is completely unfair.

These sanctions have also had a significant impact on Iran's domestic travel.

Majid Hosseininejad, founder of Alibaba Travel Group, one of the country's largest online platforms for booking travel and accommodation tickets, told Al Jazeera that the new sanctions have affected ticket sales.

Hosseininejad said: As a result of the recent sanctions, about 20 percent of Iran's flights to international destinations have been stopped. This has reduced the revenue of airline ticket booking services. The revenue of airlines has also decreased significantly due to sanctions.

On October 11, Iran's foreign ministry announced that the country's Ministry of Economic Affairs continues its efforts to facilitate Iran's flights to other countries' destinations.

Flights to and from Iran continue to face long delays, last-minute cancellations, and in some cases even rerouting to their point of origin.

Currently, Iranian travelers have little clarity about when the status will change.

Another passenger, Amir, an Iranian national who regularly flies between Iran and Oman for work, said: “Apart from other financial losses caused by the sanctions, the cancellation of flights has added another layer of hardship to our lives. Every trip between Muscat and Tehran now takes several times longer and costs several times more than before.

"It is not clear when the situation will change or if it will improve at all."