he United Arab Emirates has responded seriously to the US threat against Iranian aviation, now suspending all flights to and from Iran entirely.
The suspension of Iranian flights at UAE airports took effect Thursday, September 24, and will remain in place temporarily until further notice, according to the Financial Times, reported Friday, September 25, 2026.
Stranded Travelers Scramble for Alternatives
One Iranian resident in Dubai said his Iran Airtour flight to Tehran was suddenly canceled on Thursday. He rushed to book a flight to Istanbul instead, planning to continue on to Tehran from there, hoping flights between Iran and Turkey wouldn’t also be canceled in the coming days.
Prior to this, airports in Oman, Azerbaijan, and Baghdad had already begun canceling flights on Wednesday. According to reporting, this followed an incident involving a flight from Iran to Tajikistan that reportedly came under pressure from the United States, though the exact nature of that incident remains unclear from available reports.
What Happened to the Varesh Airlines Flight
The aircraft in question was a Boeing 737 operated by Varesh Airlines, flying from Tehran to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. According to Flightradar24, roughly half an hour into the flight, the aircraft turned back before entering Turkmen airspace, returning to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.
The same route had operated as scheduled just two days earlier, according to the flight tracking service.
Majid Akhavan, spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, said Turkmenistan only notified Iran of the airspace restriction after the aircraft had already taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport.
“No announcement was made before takeoff,” he added.
More Airlines and Countries Pull Back
Mahan Air, one of Iran’s largest airlines, suspended flights to and from Istanbul, Ankara, and Muscat this week, while Georgia suspended commercial flights to Tbilisi.
Caspian Airlines, Mahan Air, and Sepehran Airlines all failed to operate their scheduled flights from Tehran to Baghdad this week, though Sepehran’s flights in the coming days remained on the schedule, according to Flightradar24.
Flightradar24 data shows that Thursday’s scheduled flights between Tehran and Dubai were either canceled or never took off, two operated by Iran Airtour and one by Varesh Airlines.
However, on Thursday, flights to Istanbul operated by Iran Air, Iran Airtour, and ATA were still running as planned. Airport officials said they had not yet received official instructions from authorities to halt these flights.
A travel agent in Tehran, who requested anonymity, said passengers booked to China and Turkey experienced no disruptions on Thursday, even as Dubai flights disappeared from the schedule entirely.
The Broader US Sanctions Context
On Monday, September 21, 2026, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that 27 Iranian airlines would be shut down simultaneously starting Wednesday. Domestic airlines had remained Iran’s only air link to the outside world after foreign carriers stopped flying to the country when the US and Israel began strikes back in February.
Iran Warns of Retaliation
Mohsen Rezaei, one of Iran’s top security officials, said on Wednesday that any country blocking Iranian flights from using their airspace or airports could face retaliation.
“If they don’t allow our planes to fly, their airports won’t be able to have flights either,” he said.
What This Means for Travelers
If you have any travel plans involving Iran, the UAE, or connecting flights through the region, the situation remains highly fluid and is changing on a near-daily basis, with some routes still operating normally while others are canceled with little warning. Given the scale of disruption and the risk of retaliatory measures from Iranian officials, travelers should avoid relying on existing bookings and instead confirm flight status directly with airlines immediately before departure, while building significant flexibility into any travel plans touching this region in the coming weeks.
