Lufthansa

"German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said on Friday that it would resume flights from Frankfurt to Tehran from April 16, [2021]. Lufthansa had suspended flights in January 2020 after a Ukranian airliner was shot down soon after take-off from Tehran. The airline said it has since assessed security measures by Iran with national and international authorities. "The conditions for safe flight operations in Iranian airspace are currently in place," it said in an emailed statement." (Reuters, "Lufthansa to resume flights from Frankfurt to Tehran this month," 4/2/21)

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"Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa said on Friday that its group airlines were cancelling flights to and from Tehran until Jan. 20 inclusive due to the uncertain security situation of the airspace around the Iranian capital. Lufthansa said the move was a “precautionary measure” and it would decide if and when its flights to Iran would resume when it had more information." (Reuters, "Lufthansa cancels flights to and from Tehran due to uncertain security," 1/10/2020).

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"Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa is cancelling its daily flight between Frankfurt and Tehran due to the situation in Iran, a spokesman said on Wednesday." (Reuters, "Lufthansa cancels daily flight between Frankfurt and Tehran," 1/8/2020).

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Will continue flights to Tehran, along with its partner Austrian Airlines, "until further notice." "European airlines are scrapping flights to Iran," CNN, August 23, 2018.

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Lufthansa lists an airport office at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran. Following implementation Day, Lufthansa increased the number of scheduled flights from Germany to Tehran and entered into a partnership with Iran Air.

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"Lufthansa is in talks with Iran Air to provide catering, maintenance and pilot training services as it seeks to take advantage of emerging business opportunities in the country, executives at the German airline group said on Wednesday. Foreign companies have been vying for contracts in Iran since economic sanctions were lifted last year in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear technology development projects. "We are in very, very intense discussions, actually almost on a weekly basis," said Karsten Zang, Lufthansa's regional director for the Gulf, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, at a press briefing in Dubai. Lufthansa Group subsidiaries LSG Sky Chefs, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Pilot Training are seeking the contracts with Iran Air whilst the group is also in talks to provide services to other Iranian aviation firms, he told reporters at a company briefing in Dubai. Iran has signed orders for 200 new Western-built aircraft for Iran Air, taking delivery so far of two new Airbus A330s and an A321." (Reuters,  "Lufthansa In talks With Iran Air Over Catering, Maintenance Deals," 4/19/2017).

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In mid-March, the German aviation company Lufthansa signed a memorandum of understanding to provide logistics and maintenance services to Iran's airline. (March 2016)

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Lufthansa offers daily flights between Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA) (see company website). The airline is also the parent company of Austrian Airlines, which also offers daily flights to Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport.

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“Lufthansa is closely following the political situation in Iran as the country weighs up the potential of a further easing of sanctions, an executive at the German airline said. ‘Iran is going to be an interesting development for us,’ Carsten Schaeffer, Lufthansa’s Vice President Sales and Services Southeast Europe, Africa, Middle East/Pakistan, said at a media briefing in Dubai on Wednesday. Schaeffer recently visited Tehran, the Iranian capital…He said that Iran, with a population of 75 million, represents a significant opportunity for the airline. ‘Obviously, airlines provide the interchange business and create new traffic streams and so we are looking forward to what is happening in Iran,’ he said.” (Gulf News, “Lufthansa interested in Iran,” 2/6/14)

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"Austrian Airlines, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa, is cancelling its services to Iran due to a lack of demand, a spokesman said. The carrier's last flight from Vienna to Tehran will be on January 13... A spokesman for Lufthansa said the German carrier was continuing to fly to Tehran five times a week. Italian airline Alitalia also flies to Iran, according to its website." (Reuters, "Two airlines suspend Iran flights as economy weakens," 1/12/2013)

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According to an Annual Report filed by JetBlue in 2012: "Deutsche Lufthansa AG, or Lufthansa, is a stockholder of approximately 17% of JetBlue's outstanding shares of common stock and has two representatives on our Board of Directors.  Accordingly, it may be deemed an “affiliate” of JetBlue, as that term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2.  In response to our inquiries, Lufthansa informed us that it does not engage in transactions that would be disclosable under ITRA Section 219.  However, Lufthansa informed us that it does provide air transportation services from Frankfurt, Germany to Tehran, Iran pursuant to Air Transport Agreements between the respective governments. Accordingly, Lufthansa may have agreements in place to support such air transportation services with the appropriate agencies or entities, such as landing or overflight fees, handling fees or technical/refueling fees. In addition, there may be additional civil aviation related dealings with Iran Air as part of typical airline to airline interactions.  In response to our inquiry, Lufthansa did not specify the total revenue it receives in connection with the foregoing transactions, but confirmed the transactions are not prohibited under any applicable laws."
 

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"Some major Western airlines were continuing to fly to Tehran, though, namely Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, KLM and Alitalia." (The Daily Star, "Airlines stop Iran flights as currency crisis bites," 10/8/2012)

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"Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) and its U.K.-based airline British Midland International said Wednesday it faces refueling issues after Iranian authorities said there were fuel shortages, but Iran's state-run newspaper reported it was a retaliatory move... The decision comes after some European countries last year refused to refuel Iranian aircraft. That led to Iran warning it would take action if their planes continued to be refused fuel. A spokesman for Lufthansa said it received a phone call about fuel issues and that it had been warned there may not be enough supply to complete refueling or refuel altogether from Thursday. The Lufthansa spokesman said the airline is looking at its options to refuel at other countries as aircraft return to Germany." (Dow Jones, "European Airlines Face Refueling Issues in Iran," 4/13/11)

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Lufthansa is being investigated for its role in transporting nuclear-related supplies through Europe, a part of a greater incident which diplomats say “turned into a major battleground as world powers hashed out international sanctions against Iran.” “Frankfurt prosecutors say they launched their investigations after customs officials seized air-freight cargo en route from Moscow to Tehran that they determined contained monitoring equipment bound for the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which has been haltingly under construction since the 1970s. The EU argues that helping even the civilian side of Iran's nuclear program serves to strengthen the full nuclear program, so it prohibits dealings with Bushehr...The prosecution spokeswoman said the November 2009 shipment, seized in a Frankfurt airport warehouse, was handled by Lufthansa Cargo, a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG...A Lufthansa Cargo spokesman said the carrier complies with EU regulations and has 'strengthened its controls in cooperation with the German Customs Office' since the seizure.” Unlike the more extensive Russian activities in Iran, a European intelligence official believes the Germany seizures are making progress: "The closure of EU airspace to Iran nuclear trade decreases delivery options and increases the cost of business" (The Wall Street Journal, "Germany Probes Russian Shipments to Iran," 6/12/10).

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"The airline has maintained a route to Iran since 1956, a spokesperson said."  From 2000-2009, the company was the recipient of $36.8 million US federal funds.  Their investments in Iran are currently active.  (The New York Times, "Profiting from Iran, and the US," 3/6/2010)

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Germany's trade ties to Iran stretch back to the Middle Ages, and many of the companies currently there have been active in Iran for decades. Some 85 German companies have operations in Iran, from chemical maker BASF AG to Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Bayer AG, and others such as Linde AG and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG are active there, according to the Hamburg-based German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce. More than 7,000 companies conduct business there through local representatives. Germany has become such a big trading partner for Iran because so many of its companies provide the machinery and engineering prowess Iran needs to improve its infrastructure. (The Wall Street Journal, "German Firms Feel Pressure Over Tehran Trade," 10/3/09)