The Association of Air Travel Agencies in Tehran has requested not to have direct flights from Tehran to Antalya.
Amir Pouyan Rafiei Shad, the chairman of the board of the Association of Air Travel and Tourism Agencies of Tehran Province, mentioned about the lack of Iranian airplanes stopping in Antalya. He said this issue goes back to the directive of the national aviation organization. This directive was issued exactly four governments ago, meaning before Mr. Rouhani’s government, which stated that there should be no direct flights to Antalya and Iranian flights are not allowed to have direct flights.
Turkish airlines operate on this route, but Iranian airlines are restricted to have layovers in nearby cities and continue their journey by land. Some also use cities like Ankara. In general, this decision is a directive from a governmental authority.
He explained the reason for this decision in previous governments was a matter of preference and the effective promotion of a specific destination. They did not want any promotion to take place. However, there were other solutions that did not solve the issue. The solution was to encourage domestic travel and reduce the interest in foreign travel by strengthening the infrastructure in the south. When the necessary facilities are not available, people will naturally head towards Turkey.
