Woman leaves a shop in the Iranian capital Tehran as the rial lost more than a third of its value against the dollar in 2025. (January 6, 2026)
Turkish Airlines cancels Friday's Istanbul-Tehran flights: airport
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- Aviation Shutdown: Turkish Airlines canceled all seven of its scheduled flights to Iran on Friday, following similar cancellations on Thursday, as protests in the Islamic Republic enter their 13th consecutive day.
- In-Flight Divertions: Multiple aircraft, including a Turkish Airlines flight to Shiraz and a Pegasus flight to Mashhad, reportedly performed mid-air U-turns back to Istanbul overnight due to the escalating instability.
Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Turkey, canceled all seven of its scheduled flights to Iran on Friday, a company spokesperson said.
The move comes as civil unrest in neighboring Iran intensifies, marking the 13th day of nationwide demonstrations.
The cancellations included five flights from Istanbul to the capital, Tehran, as well as one flight to Tabriz in the north and another to Mashhad in the east.
This follows a previous wave of cancellations on Thursday, during which the airline grounded two flights to Tehran and one to Tabriz.
Mid-Air Reversals and Regional Chaos
The disruption has left hundreds of travelers stranded and created chaos for those already in the air. Iranian passengers took to social media platform X to report that their flights were diverted while in transit.
According to data from the flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, a Turkish Airlines aircraft en route to Shiraz in southern Iran and a Pegasus Airlines low-cost flight bound for Mashhad both turned back toward Istanbul overnight.
Flight boards at Istanbul Airport also indicated that five flights operated by various Iranian carriers between the two countries were canceled, although seven other scheduled flights remained on the board at that time.
Silence from Ankara
Despite the shutdown, Turkish authorities have yet to issue an official diplomatic comment on the internal situation in Iran.
Protests reportedly surged in intensity late Thursday, with activists describing the latest wave of demonstrations as some of the most widespread since the unrest began.
Turkey and Iran share a porous 500-kilometer (310-mile) land border, with three primary crossing points that serve as critical trade and transit hubs. While the status of the land borders remains officially open, the suspension of major air links suggests a heightened security posture by the Turkish aviation sector.
