Dubai, Germany deny ban on refueling Iranian planes
Companies operating airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Germany say continue to refuel Iran planes. 'There is no ban,' Germany's Transport Ministry says
Aviation authorities and service providers for airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Germany denied Iran's claim that they are refusing to provide refueling services to Iran's airlines.
Dubai Airports said it continues to refuel Iranian passenger flights into its international terminals with jet fuel.
"Dubai Airports confirms that Iranian airlines operating in and out of Dubai International continue to be refueled," the company that operates airports in the emirate of Dubai said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
Earlier, the company managing airports in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, said it too continued to supply Iranian passenger jets with fuel.
"We have contracts with Iranian commercial flights and continue to offer them fuel," the Abu Dhabi airports authority said in a statement.
Germany's Transport Ministry said the refueling of Iranian planes was not banned under European Union or United Nations sanctions and that a future ban of this order was not foreseeable.
"There is no ban," a spokesman for the ministry told Reuters, adding that he could not comment on whether any individual providers were refusing to fuel Iranian aircraft.
Earlier in the day the ISNA news agency reported that according to Iran, Germany, Britain, and the United Arab Emirates were refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes following unilateral US sanctions on the Islamic state.
Ever since last week, airports in these countries are not supplying fuel to Iranian airplanes," said Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of the Iranian Airlines Guild.
According to Aliyari, this situation is compelling Iranian airplanes to make stopovers in other countries, which doubles flight costs. "As of now, the airlines that have encountered this problem are Mahan Air and IranAir, which fly a lot to Europe."
The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority declined to comment on the Iranian report on Monday.
Dudi Cohen contributed to the report
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