German flag-carrier Lufthansa confirmed on Monday that it still plans to resume daily Frankfurt–Tehran flights on 16 January 2026, even as mass anti-government protests in Iran continue and Washington hints at fresh military strikes. The route has been suspended since June 2025, when a spike in regional tensions prompted the airline to pull back just three months after its previous relaunch.
Iran’s cost-of-living protests have turned deadly in recent days, with internet blackouts and reports of forceful crackdowns complicating situational awareness for foreign carriers. Turkish Airlines and several Gulf operators cancelled services over the weekend, while Austrian Airlines—also part of the Lufthansa Group—paused Vienna-Tehran flights but aims to restart them tomorrow.
Travelers facing tight timelines to secure Iranian entry permits can outsource the paperwork: VisaHQ’s Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) provides step-by-step visa support, document couriering, and up-to-date embassy guidance, helping corporates and individual passengers keep itineraries on track even when consular rules shift without warning.
![Lufthansa Presses Ahead With Tehran Relaunch Despite Iranian Unrest and Security Warnings]()
In an emailed statement, Lufthansa said it is “closely monitoring the situation” but sees no immediate need to revise its restart plan. The airline declined to disclose crew-security protocols, but industry insiders expect higher cruising altitudes over potential flashpoints and extended layovers in Dubai to avoid crew overnighting in Iran.
For German corporates with operations in Iran’s automotive and chemicals sectors, the service provides a critical non-stop link for project teams and spare-parts logistics. Nevertheless, travel-risk consultancies are advising firms to conduct enhanced due-diligence briefings and to register staff movements with Germany’s ELEFAND crisis-tracking portal.
Should security deteriorate, Lufthansa has shown a willingness to pull the plug quickly, meaning mobility managers need contingency routings via Istanbul, Doha or Dubai—routes that may themselves be capacity-constrained if multiple carriers divert traffic at short notice.
Iran’s cost-of-living protests have turned deadly in recent days, with internet blackouts and reports of forceful crackdowns complicating situational awareness for foreign carriers. Turkish Airlines and several Gulf operators cancelled services over the weekend, while Austrian Airlines—also part of the Lufthansa Group—paused Vienna-Tehran flights but aims to restart them tomorrow.
Travelers facing tight timelines to secure Iranian entry permits can outsource the paperwork: VisaHQ’s Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) provides step-by-step visa support, document couriering, and up-to-date embassy guidance, helping corporates and individual passengers keep itineraries on track even when consular rules shift without warning.
In an emailed statement, Lufthansa said it is “closely monitoring the situation” but sees no immediate need to revise its restart plan. The airline declined to disclose crew-security protocols, but industry insiders expect higher cruising altitudes over potential flashpoints and extended layovers in Dubai to avoid crew overnighting in Iran.
For German corporates with operations in Iran’s automotive and chemicals sectors, the service provides a critical non-stop link for project teams and spare-parts logistics. Nevertheless, travel-risk consultancies are advising firms to conduct enhanced due-diligence briefings and to register staff movements with Germany’s ELEFAND crisis-tracking portal.
Should security deteriorate, Lufthansa has shown a willingness to pull the plug quickly, meaning mobility managers need contingency routings via Istanbul, Doha or Dubai—routes that may themselves be capacity-constrained if multiple carriers divert traffic at short notice.
