Ba eyes up tehran flights

British Airways is considering reinstating flights to Iran in the near future.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways (BA), told Business Travel News at a Global Airfinance conference in Dublin that the nation's capital was being weighed up for reintroduction to its international routes.

"We are very interested in flying to Tehran and we are hopeful that it will form part of BA's network in the very near future," Walsh said. "We are actively looking at it as a destination."

The news arrives as the EU lifts its economic sanctions against Iran, following the country's compliance with a nuclear deal struck last summer. Indeed, shortly after that agreement was made in July 2015, the British Foreign Office relaxed its travel advice for Iran, saying parts of the country were once again safe for British tourists, due to "decreasing hostility under President Rouhani’s government".

The reintroduction of the route would potentially help to foster stronger relations between the UK and Iran, with estate agents forecasting an influx of Iranian capital in Britain's real estate market.