US aviation sanctions disrupt Iran flights, push travellers overland

Travel disruptions intensify as Iranian airlines lose access to airspace, pushing civilians towards costly land routes.

A banner depicting a clenched fist of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with writing that reads in Farsi: 'We must rise,' at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, Iran, Wednesday, September 23, 2026 [Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]

Tehran, Iran – Travel is becoming increasingly difficult for Iranian civilians as United States sanctions shut domestic airlines out of much of the world’s airspace and international carriers continue to avoid the country.

The US Department of the Treasury designated 27 airlines on September 8, covering the remaining Iranian carriers that had not previously been sanctioned by Washington. Major names like Iran Air and Mahan are among those already heavily sanctioned, but have continued limited operations.

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Recent designations have also targeted individuals and entities linked to aviation support and procurement in the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, China, India, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and elsewhere.

Airports and companies that provide Iranian-operated aeroplanes with fuel, landing services, or ticket sales risk secondary US sanctions that could cut them off from the US financial system , Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday. It is the latest attempt to squeeze Iran and force it to make concessions amid the US-Israel war on Iran.

Wednesday marked the expiry of a short wind-down period allowing countries to stop servicing Iranian carriers, leading to the cancellation of all but a handful of Iranian flights to Turkiye, UAE and China.

Aviation authorities in several neighbouring countries that had continued to allow Iranian airlines to use their airspace and airport services would no longer be providing them, including Oman, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. In Iraq, Baghdad Airport was declared off-limits to Iranian carriers, but flights to Najaf Airport were still operating on Wednesday.

Many flights between Iran and major transit hubs in Turkiye and the UAE had already been suspended because of the war and sanctions. International airlines have also largely stopped flying to Iran, with Turkish Airlines suspending flights until at least March 2027, and Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Lufthansa’s operations also suspended.

‘A new level’ of sanctions

Iran-based aviation and transit expert Mohammadreza Ebrahimpour said years of US sanctions had already forced Iranian airlines to rely on third countries and work with smaller firms to get fuel or services. Obtaining spare parts needed to keep Iran’s ageing aircraft flying has also become increasingly difficult.

But the decision by aviation authorities in neighbouring countries to formally refuse services to Iranian airlines constituted “a new level of sanctions in action” that could have longer-lasting consequences, he told Al Jazeera.

Ebrahimpour said the US had also effectively prohibited international airlines from flying through Iranian airspace by suspending authorisations for some US-origin aircraft to fly to Iran and limiting US-linked overflight payments.

“This is a big blow because payments for overflights were one of the most lucrative parts of [Iran’s] aviation industry, which could act as a support for developing infrastructure and the overall industry,” Ebrahimpour said, adding that Iran earned more than $300m a year from this.

Beyond the effect on civilian passengers and the import of some goods, the measures could put tens of thousands of jobs at risk across the aviation sector and related industries, including tourism and hospitality.

Ebrahimpour pointed out that the International Civil Aviation Agency and other organisations have failed to offer any tangible protection to Iran’s aviation industry during years of sanctions. Iranian authorities, he said, would likely consider China and Russia among the few countries potentially able to provide assistance.

The two countries have rejected US sanctions against Iran, although some of their more globally connected financial networks and companies have, at times, distanced themselves from Iran to avoid secondary sanctions.

Under pressure from all fronts

The flight cancellations have pushed thousands of travellers towards land crossings, particularly those with Turkiye and Armenia, where onward international flights remain available for Iranians. Heavy congestion has been reported in recent days at the Bazargan and Razi border crossings with Turkiye and along land routes to the Armenian capital Yerevan.

But everyday passenger travel overland into Azerbaijan remains restricted, with Azerbaijan’s government citing internal security and COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, Iranians cannot cross overland into Azerbaijan to catch a flight there.

The Shalamcheh and Chazabeh border crossings with Iraq were also temporarily closed earlier this month, leaving travellers stranded, before reopening to passengers on September 13.

For thousands of Iranians attempting to travel, the flight suspensions mean significantly longer journeys. Some members of the Iranian diaspora have expressed concern online that the lingering effects of war and sanctions could potentially prevent them from visiting parents and other family members in Iran.

Bus tickets from Iran to Turkiye have reportedly sold for quadruple their normal price on the black market amid surging demand.

Some of the people making the journey are young Iranians who are attempting to take international language tests that are not allowed to be administered inside Iran due to sanctions. The tests are often a prerequisite for anyone planning to study, work, or settle abroad.

Iranian academics have also expressed concern about growing isolation from the international academic community. Numerous universities across the globe, including in Norway, Australia, Singapore, Estonia and elsewhere, have in recent weeks rejected postgraduate and research applications from Iranians as a result of US education sanctions.

At the same time, many of Iran’s roughly 90 million people are currently unable to afford international travel – or even domestic flights – as the country’s economic conditions worsen .

The Trump administration has portrayed the war and sanctions as measures directed at the Iranian authorities.

The US Treasury has said its aviation restrictions are intended to disrupt the use of Iranian commercial aviation for weapons procurement and transportation, including activities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). But the designation of entire airlines under “Operation Economic Outcast”, after nearly seven months of war, has also had sweeping consequences for affected civilians.

Iran’s international aviation network was already badly damaged prior to the latest package of sanctions. Aviation analytics company Cirium reported that international capacity in August 2026 was 49 percent lower than in August 2025, despite a modest recovery from July.

The latest flight cancellations are also expected to further disrupt imports by air at a time when the US naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports in the Strait of Hormuz has constrained maritime trade routes, while war and sanctions have caused disruptions and delays to road and rail cargo routes.

Some of Iran’s medical imports enter the country by air, raising concerns that the latest aviation restrictions could place more pressure on an already struggling healthcare sector . A domestic pharmaceutical company executive told Al Jazeera earlier this month that the cost of some imported supplies, some of which arrived by air, had risen as much as 10-fold as a result of sanctions, wider economic pressure, and war damage.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the Trump administration of “bullying”.

“They have tested Iran’s resilience, and now they know full well that Iran cannot be forced to surrender through war,” Pezeshkian said.

由于伊朗航空公司失去领空使用权，旅行中断情况加剧，迫使平民转向成本高昂的陆路交通。

2026年9月23日星期三，在伊朗德黑兰伊玛目霍梅尼国际机场，一幅横幅上印着已故伊朗最高领袖阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊紧握的拳头，并用波斯语写着：“我们必须崛起”。[Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]

伊朗德黑兰——由于美国制裁导致伊朗国内航空公司无法进入世界大部分空域，而国际航空公司也继续避开该国，伊朗平民的出行变得越来越困难。

9月8日，美国财政部将27家航空公司列入制裁名单，涵盖了此前未被华盛顿制裁的剩余伊朗航空公司。伊朗航空和马汉航空等知名航空公司此前已受到严厉制裁，但仍在有限范围内继续运营。

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最近的制裁名单还针对与阿联酋、土耳其、中国、印度、英国、马来西亚等地的航空支持和采购相关的个人和实体。

美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特周一表示，为伊朗运营的飞机提供燃料、起降服务或机票销售的机场和公司可能面临美国二级制裁，这些制裁可能导致它们被切断与美国金融体系的联系。这是在美以对伊战争期间，美国试图向伊朗施压并迫使其做出让步的最新举措。

周三标志着允许各国停止为伊朗航空公司提供服务的短暂过渡期结束，导致除少数飞往土耳其、阿联酋和中国的伊朗航班外，所有伊朗航班都被取消。

包括阿曼、阿塞拜疆和格鲁吉亚在内的几个邻国的航空当局此前一直允许伊朗航空公司使用其领空和机场服务，但现在这些国家将不再向伊朗航空公司提供此类服务。在伊拉克，巴格达机场已被宣布禁止伊朗航空公司使用，但周三飞往纳杰夫机场的航班仍在运营。

由于战争和制裁，伊朗与土耳其和阿联酋主要中转枢纽之间的许多航班早已停飞。国际航空公司也大多停止了飞往伊朗的航班，土耳其航空已暂停航班至少到2027年3月，卡塔尔航空、阿联酋航空和汉莎航空的运营也已暂停。

制裁力度“提升至新高度”。

伊朗航空和运输专家穆罕默德雷扎·易卜拉欣普尔表示，多年来的美国制裁已经迫使伊朗航空公司依赖第三国，并与规模较小的公司合作获取燃料或服务。此外，获取维持伊朗老旧飞机正常运转所需的零部件也变得越来越困难。

但他告诉半岛电视台，邻国航空当局正式拒绝向伊朗航空公司提供服务的决定构成了“新一轮制裁”，可能会产生更持久的影响。

埃布拉欣普尔表示，美国还通过暂停一些美国制造的飞机飞往伊朗的授权，并限制与美国有关的飞越费，实际上禁止了国际航空公司飞越伊朗领空。

“这对伊朗来说是一个沉重的打击，因为飞越费是伊朗航空业最赚钱的部分之一，这笔钱可以用来支持基础设施建设和整个行业的发展，”埃布拉希姆普尔说，并补充说伊朗每年从中获得超过 3 亿美元的收入。

除了对民用乘客和某些商品进口造成影响外，这些措施还可能使航空业及相关行业（包括旅游和酒店业）的数万个工作岗位面临风险。

埃布拉欣普尔指出，国际民用航空组织和其他机构在多年的制裁期间未能为伊朗航空业提供任何切实有效的保护。他说，伊朗当局可能会将中国和俄罗斯视为少数几个有能力提供援助的国家。

两国拒绝接受美国对伊朗的制裁，尽管它们一些与全球联系更紧密的金融网络和公司有时会为了避免二级制裁而与伊朗保持距离。

在四面八方的压力下

航班取消迫使成千上万的旅客转向陆路口岸，特别是与土耳其和亚美尼亚接壤的口岸，因为伊朗公民仍可通过这些口岸转乘国际航班。据报道，近日与土耳其接壤的巴扎尔甘和拉齐边境口岸以及通往亚美尼亚首都埃里温的陆路通道均出现严重拥堵。

但由于阿塞拜疆政府以国内安全和新冠疫情限制为由，日常旅客经陆路进入阿塞拜疆仍然受到限制。因此，伊朗人无法经陆路进入阿塞拜疆搭乘飞机。

本月初，伊拉克与沙拉姆切赫和查扎贝赫边境口岸也曾暂时关闭，导致旅客滞留，直到 9 月 13 日才重新向旅客开放。

对于成千上万试图出行的伊朗人来说，航班停飞意味着旅程将大大延长。一些伊朗侨民在网上表达了担忧，认为战争和制裁的持续影响可能会阻碍他们探望在伊朗的父母和其他亲人。

据报道，由于需求激增，从伊朗到土耳其的巴士车票在黑市上的售价已达到正常价格的四倍。

这些人当中有些是年轻的伊朗人，他们试图参加国际语言考试。由于制裁，这些考试在伊朗境内无法进行。对于计划出国留学、工作或定居的人来说，这些考试通常是先决条件。

伊朗学者也对日益被国际学术界孤立表示担忧。由于美国的教育制裁，包括挪威、澳大利亚、新加坡、爱沙尼亚等在内的全球众多大学近几周来拒绝了伊朗学生的硕士和博士研究生申请。

与此同时，由于伊朗的经济状况恶化，该国约 9000 万人口中的许多人目前无力承担国际旅行，甚至国内航班的费用。

特朗普政府将这场战争和制裁描述为针对伊朗当局的措施。

美国财政部表示，其航空限制旨在阻止伊朗利用商业航空进行武器采购和运输，包括与伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）相关的活动。但经过近七个月的战争，将整个航空公司列入“经济排斥行动”名单，也对受影响的平民造成了广泛的影响。

在最新一轮制裁出台之前，伊朗的国际航空网络就已经遭受重创。航空分析公司Cirium报告称，尽管7月份以来有所回升，但2026年8月的国际运力仍比2025年8月下降49%。

最新的航班取消预计也将进一步扰乱空运进口，而此时美国海军封锁了伊朗霍尔木兹海峡的南部港口，限制了海上贸易路线，战争和制裁也造成了公路和铁路货运路线的中断和延误。

伊朗部分医疗进口物资通过空运进入该国，这引发了人们的担忧，即最新的航空限制可能会给本已举步维艰的医疗保健行业带来更大压力。本月初，一家伊朗国内制药公司的高管告诉半岛电视台，由于制裁、更广泛的经济压力和战争破坏，一些进口物资（其中一些是通过空运抵达的）的成本上涨了多达10倍。

伊朗总统马苏德·佩泽什基安周三在纽约联合国大会上发表讲话，指责特朗普政府“欺凌”伊朗。

佩泽什基安说：“他们考验了伊朗的韧性，现在他们完全明白，伊朗不可能通过战争被迫投降。”