Iranian Airlines to stop flying to Malaysia as airports refuse refueling

Iran's aviation world has shrunk just a little smaller, with flights from Iran to Malaysia no longer possible. The route will close because Malaysian airports will no longer provide fuel to Iranian airlines. According to Iran International, the existing United States sanctions prohibit US companies from supplying fuel to Iranian aircraft. The refueling companies at Malaysian airports source fuel from US companies, and the report says, "these companies have been informed that they will be subject to punitive measures if they keep refueling the Islamic Republic's planes." Iranian airline Mahan Air was sanctioned in 2008 by the US for its links to the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. On Friday, the secretary of Iran's Aviation Companies Association, Maghsoud Asadi-Samani, said Mahan Airlines would operate the last Iranian flight to Kuala Lumpur. Samani described it as yet another blow to hit the country's aviation industry due to the US sanction. He also said domestic airlines will lose the revenues of passenger transportation on this route, and "we will lose one of the bases in Southeast Asia." In Iran, only Mahan Airlines (Mahan) and Iran Air have aircraft capable of the 3,935 miles (6,334 km), eight-hour flight from Tehran to Kuala Lumpur. Prior to the pandemic, the Tehran - Kuala Lumpur route operated three times a week before being suspended and returning as a once-weekly flight.<br/>