BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 9. Turkish Airlines (THY) has cancelled all five of its scheduled flights to the Iranian capital, Tehran, for Friday due to escalating protests, TurkicWorld reports, citing data from the Istanbul Airport mobile application.
In addition to the suspension of Turkish Airlines flights, five other flights operated by various Iranian carriers were also canceled on Friday. While seven additional flights remain scheduled for the time being, the situation at Tehran’s international airport continues to evolve and remains uncertain.
Heightened security concerns became apparent late Thursday evening. According to aviation tracking platform Flight Radar, both a Turkish Airlines flight en route to Shiraz and a Pegasus Airlines flight bound for Mashhad were compelled to return to their point of origin and exit Iranian airspace.
The recent unrest stems from a sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial against foreign currencies, which has triggered a wave of protests by traders in Iran since December 29. The demonstrators are calling for urgent measures to stabilize the currency and address the country’s broader economic challenges.
