Air France Flies Back To Iran After Headscarf Incident
Airbus A380-800 of Air France
Air France is set to resume flights from Paris to Tehran on Sunday after a row in which the cabin crew of the airline and female pilots opposed the standards of Iran who have to cover their heads whenever they are not board on aircraft.
Lifting sanctions, the French national carrier market is returning to Iran after eight years. The company said the female staff are allowed to refuse to work in Tehran route without suffering the penalty, but flying in Iran will have to follow the local Islamic law and wear a veil.
Iran Frequent travelers say about other companies that sudden placement of headscarves is a common sight as aircraft come in for a landing.
"Suddenly, all Iranian women seem different," said one European male visitor. "It's an amazing scene."
Many Iranian women are creative in challenging the obligation headscarf, in force since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and cover as little as possible, but most foreigners passing completely hide their hair and body curves in the fear of punishment.
"The first time I flew to Tehran's Islamic looked all aboard Iranian Muslim women," said Catholic spouse of a Western diplomat in Tehran. "I had no makeup and wearing a large and largest shirt and pants handkerchief... And could not believe the contrast with Iranian women of fashion".
Although alcohol is banned in Iran, Air France plans to operate a full catering service, including alcohol, on board its flights three times a week. On the ground, the Islamic Republic is not strict about the application of the law against the use of alcohol, as long as you drink in private homes.
European airlines left Iran because of US tensions with the West over its nuclear activities, have gradually been coming since the centrist government of Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013 and sought a policy of detente.
Austrian Airlines was the first to re-launch its services to Tehran in 2014 and British Airways will begin offering six flights per week to Tehran on July 14, Lufthansa and Alitalia never left Iran.
After the nuclear agreement Iran over milestone reached last year with six major powers - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - sanctions began to lift, and the Islamic regime made renewal of aircraft aging country one of its main priorities. It takes about 500 new aircraft, Iran's fleet has an average age of 25 years old and includes some aircraft that predate the 1979 revolution air disasters have cost about 1,200 Iranian lives since.
The first important agreement after the nuclear agreement was signed earlier this year with Airbus aircraft agreeing to sell 118 of Iran Air. No aircraft have been delivered and the Government of Mr. Rouhani is struggling to secure financing of $ 25 billion in aircraft.
Meanwhile, Boeing is the first US company since the revolution to publicly hold talks with Iranian officials in Tehran. Executives of American aircraft manufacturer visited Tehran last week, but some details have been released been released.
Iranian security of flights and increase in the number of foreign flights are crucial for Iran's ambitions to attract up to $ 50 billion a year investment.
Iran is hoping to boost tourism to its historic sites at a time when their relative safety in a volatile region has made some Middle East destinations - inaccessible for the foreseeable future - particularly Syria.
The new flights come at a time when Tehran is receiving many delegations from Western and Asian businesses looking to make Iran the newly opened market.
Passengers on an inaugural flight of Air France on Sunday consists of a number of dignitaries, including the chief executive of the airline Frédéric Gagey, French Secretary of State for transport, marine affairs and fisheries, Alain Vidalies, former minister French Huber Vedrin Foreign Affairs, according to a Western diplomat in Tehran.
The resumption of European flights will also make life easier for the expatriate community in the country, who have had to travel to Turkey, the UAE and Qatar for connections life. Iranian airlines are also benefiting from the lifting of sanctions, as they can now buy fuel in the west and not have to stop in Central Asia, Ukraine and Turkey to refill their tanks. "It was a delight to fly to Iran direct air from Heathrow to Tehran," Laila, a business woman said. "But he feared the plane of age and I can not wait for the new Airbus and Boeing aircraft to arrive."
