Lufthansa extends Tehran flights suspension until April 18

BERLIN (Reuters) – German flagship airline Lufthansa has extended its suspension of flights to and from Tehran until April 18 and will not use Iranian airspace during that time, the company said on Friday.

The carrier said the decision was taken after a “careful evaluation” using government security assessments and its own information.

Lufthansa first announced it had cancelled a flight from Frankfurt to Tehran last weekend to avoid the crew having to disembark and spend the night.

Middle Eastern countries and the United States have been on alert for a retaliatory attack by Iran since April 1, when the Iranian embassy compound in Syria was bombed by suspected Israeli warplanes.

Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines are the only two Western carriers flying into Tehran, which is mostly served by Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines.