Iran Air is preparing to restart flights to Japan following last month’s international deal to end sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear program, IRNA reported, citing two people with knowledge of the situation.
The carrier will initially restart flights connecting Tokyo’s Narita airport with Tehran, with a stop in Beijing, on a once-a-week basis, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because a final decision has not been made.
Iran Air, which suspended its flights to Japan in 2012, is expected to relaunch direct flights to Tokyo in 2017.
Iran and Japan also are discussing allowing direct flights between the countries for multiple airlines, and will come to an agreement on this soon, said another person, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public.
Japan Airlines Co. stopped direct flights to Tehran in 1980 following the Iranian Revolution the previous year.
Bloomberg, which first reported the news, cited an official at Japan’s Transport Ministry as saying that they had received several requests from Iran Air and the Iranian government about resuming flights, but “nothing has been decided yet.” It would be less time-consuming to approve charter flights than regular commercial flights, the official said.
European airlines are readying to restart flights to Iran, with British Airways planning to resume service to Tehran in July.
