Iran Archives – London Air Travel

BA suspends London Heathrow – Tehran

British Airways has suspended its route from London Heathrow to Tehran from Saturday 22 September 2018.

British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has suspended its route from London Heathrow to Tehran.

The last outbound flight (BA153) will operate from London Heathrow on Saturday 22 September 2018. The last inbound flight (BA152) will operate from Tehran on Sunday 23 September 2018.

The route was relaunched in September 2016 having been suspended four years earlier. Whilst no reason has been given for the suspension, it is likely that the imposition of sanctions on Iran by the United States has had an impact.

This follows similar suspensions by Air France and KLM. Austrian and Lufthansa continue to fly to Tehran from Vienna and Frankfurt respectively. Iran Air will also continue to fly from London Heathrow to Tehran.

Rebooking Options

Passengers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to a refund or to change their dates of travel before the route is suspended.

BA is in the process of discussing rebooking options with other airlines. When routes are suspended it normally takes at least a few days for BA to secure rebooking agreements. In addition, options with more airlines tend to progressively become available.

As such, unless it is urgent, we would recommend waiting at least a week to see what rebooking options are available. We will update this page with rebooking options as they become available.

Update: Tuesday 28 August 2018

BA has secured a rebooking agreement with Austrian and Lufthansa via Vienna and Frankfurt.

In all cases, passengers must connect to/from a BA operated flight between London Heathrow and Vienna or Frankfurt. It should also be noted that Austrian does not operate a premium economy cabin on this route. This option applies for travel up to Saturday 30 March 2019.

Update: Wednesday 5 September 2018

BA has also secured a rebooking agreement with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.

In all cases, passengers must connect to/from a BA operated flight between London Heathrow and Istanbul for travel up to Monday 30 September 2019.

Also note, not all of the above options may be available to passengers who have made bookings using Avios or group bookings.

BA delays launch of London Heathrow – Tehran to Thursday 1 September 2016

London Air Travel » Iran

British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has delayed the relaunch of its route from London Heathrow to Tehran, Iran from Thursday 14 July to Thursday 1 September 2016.

No specific reason has been given for the delay. However, we surmise that the delay is either due to a shortage of suitable long-haul aircraft or operational and regulatory delays in establishing operations in Tehran.

Affected passengers have the option of an indirect reroute on the following airlines: Lufthansa (via Frankfurt/Munich), Alitalia (via Rome Fiumicino), Turkish Airlines (via Istanbul), or Aegean Airlines (via Athens). Connections to the aforementioned airlines flights will be via British Airways operated flights from London Heathrow.

BA has also revised its schedule for London Heathrow – Tehran which is now as follows:

London Heathow – Tehran

Flight BA153 Depart London Heathrow 20:30 – Arrive Tehran 05:45 (Daily, except Sundays)

Tehran – London Heathrow

Flight BA152 Depart Tehran 08:35 – Arrive London Heathrow 11:10 (Daily, except Mondays)

(Timetable is indicative and may vary by season.)

BA returns to Tehran from Thursday 14 July 2016

London Air Travel » Iran

British Airways Tailfin (Image Credit: Nick Morrish/British Airways)

British Airways has today announced that it is to return to Iran with the launch of a six times weekly direct flight from London Heathrow to Tehran (Imam Khomeini International Airport) from Thursday 14 July 2016.

Flights will depart from London Heathrow Terminal 5 and will be operated using a four class Boeing 777 aircraft (First Class, Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy and World Traveller economy). The flight will not operate from London Heathrow on Sundays.

That BA is launching the service using a twin-aisle long haul aircraft six times a week is clearly a sign of confidence that there will be strong passenger and cargo demand.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com.

This route is also currently operated by Iran Air on a 3x weekly basis. The last British airline to serve Tehran was bmi British Midland which operated the route until October 2012. It was suspended following the acquisition of bmi by International Airlines Group. bmi was later merged into British Airways.

London Heathrow – Tehran

Flight BA153 Depart London Heathrow 21:10 – Arrive Tehran 06:25

Tehran – London Heathrow

Flight BA152 Depart Tehran 08:35 – Arrive London Heathrow 11:10