Manston to stop fuelling Iran Air: pure coincidence?

A controversial deal allowing Iran Air to refuel at Manston airport will come to an end, the Isle of Thanet Gazette can reveal. Airport boss Charles Buchanan said the company would not be using the airport any more, but said this had nothing to do with recent publicity over the arrangement.

It was claimed Iran Air planes were using the airport to dodge US sanctions. Mr Buchanan said:

"By accepting Iran Air flights for refuelling there is nothing wrong being done. What we are doing is in conjunction and in liaison with the Department of Transport and is not offending any relations."

Iranian planes are banned from refuelling in countries that have economic ties with America. but can avoid sanctions by filling up at privately owned airports such as Manston. The Iran Air flights are allowed to land at Heathrow however they are not able to refuel for the journey home at any airport that has trade links with the US. Mr Buchanan said:

"The arrangement is coming to an end. It has been going on for around eight months and they have now decided to make other arrangements."

Mr Buchanan said he did not know where Iran Air will refuel from now on.

thisiskent 2nd Dec 2011

Manston winces in the glare of publicity

The Iran Air Fuel Fiasco has been an international PR disaster for the airport. As Maxim PR (the airport's own PR company) says on its website: "You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep".

One consequence of this shambles is that all Manston's customers will be watched more closely in future, which may not please all of them.

Charles Buchanan's comments in this BBC article make it clear that it is the airport's desperation for money that led them into this geo-political minefield, and that they're giving up this revenue stream very reluctantly. Incidentally, this story makes a lot more sense if you replace the word "ethics" with the phrase "public relations"...

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A Kent airport has stopped allowing aircraft from Iran's national airline to make refuelling stops on return journeys from Heathrow. Kent International Airport at Manston said it made the decision in the last week amid the worsening diplomatic relationship between the UK and Iran.

Chief executive Charles Buchanan said the decision was the "right thing to do" for ethical reasons.

Iran Air had been refuelling at Manston airport for several months. Although its flights were able to land at Heathrow, they could not refuel there because US sanctions prevented Iran Air dealing with companies that had links to America. Manston, owned by Infratil, has no American trade connections.

Mr Buchanan said the airport had not breached any sanctions and that all the aircraft which landed at Manston had been cleared by the Civil Aviation Authority. The decision to stop refuelling Iran Air planes was made before this week's closure of the British embassy in Tehran and Iranian embassy in London.

"As a commercial enterprise this was a profitable exercise for us but the sensitivities of dealing with Iran have changed. We are trying to make the airport as profitable as we can and everything we do is targeted towards that.

But clearly we do have to take the ethics of the situation into account and take a decision that is right in the wider context. Any revenue is significant and so it was a decision that we didn't take lightly."

BBC 1st Dec 2011

Desperate times call for desperate customers

In the glare of the floodlights at a remote Home Counties ­airfield the crew of an Iran Air passenger jet set about a discreet spot of sanctions ­busting. The bizarre sight of the Tehran-bound plane has become a regular event as it refuels at one of the UK’s smallest airports so the scheduled flight can return to Iran.

Banned from filling up at Heathrow because of Western-imposed sanctions, the plane with up to 266 passengers has just made the quick hop to a virtually deserted Kent International Airport at Manston. Two fuel trucks bearing the insignia of Manston airport quickly arrive to make sure the jet has enough fuel for the six‑hour flight home.

For the past three months the regular Iran Air flights have taken a 40-minute diversion from Heathrow to the dimly-lit airfield near Ramsgate three times a week on the scheduled service to the Middle East.

On Thursday the Airbus 300-600, flight number IR170, landed at 5.40pm and taxied to an area near the tiny terminal building. It remained on the ground for an hour as the fuel was delivered and officials at the privately-owned airfield were paid for the transaction. Just a day earlier another Tehran-bound Iran Air jet from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam was spotted landing at ­Manston for a refuelling stop.

A spokesman for struggling ­Manston Airport, owned by loss‑making New Zealand ­company Infratil, insisted the deal was not breaching ­guidelines in place against the hardline regime of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over its nuclear programme. He said:

“We are complying with all the regulations laid down by the Civil Aviation Authority. There is no reason why we shouldn’t do it. As a small airport we have to do business where we can. We have flights from Iran Air refuelling on a regular basis.”

Infratil also owns Glasgow Prestwick Airport but together with Manston the two UK ­airports made a combined loss of almost £6million last year as passenger numbers fell. Oil giants BP and Shell have refused to service the Iranian jets at Heathrow and only this week the US joined the UK in announcing tough new ­measures against Iran. The UK said it was cutting all ties with Iranian banks as Chancellor George Osborne said all credit and financial institutions had to cease ­trading with Iranian ones.

Two-thirds of Iran Air’s planes are already banned from flying within Europe because of safety concerns. The Iran Air planes are able to land safely at Manston, a vital RAF base during the Second World War, because of its long runway. Manston Airport is ­considered a sanctions loophole as it has no direct business links with the US, which fears the Iranians are developing a nuclear bomb.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said:

“We don’t get involved in the politics of whether it is right for the planes to land there because of sanctions in place in the UK.”

Express.co.uk 27th Nov 2011

Worst Thanet movie ever...

Well, as the caption says, thank God it's only a movie...

It is just a joke, right?

Sanctions busting at Manston

Many of you have been wondering why the state airline of a pariah nation regularly visits a failing airport in the corner of England.

A while ago, I was told that Iran Air come to Manston to refuel, which struck me as a "reasonable reason" but a woefully inadequate explanation. Things are now becoming clearer...

For a number of historical reasons, Iran and USA are not best mates. The USA are currently showing their dislike of Iran through sanctions - read about the sanctions here. American foreign policy is conducted in such a way as to try to compel the rest of the world to follow their lead. The Americans "forbid companies and governments with economic ties with the US to trade with Iran".

Depending on your viewpoint, this can be regarded as the effective use of economic leverage, or as blackmail. Either way, it seems to be working, in as much as Iran Air is desperately short of spare parts to maintain its fleet. The inevitable impact on airworthiness probably explains why most of Iran Air's aircraft are banned from European airspace - read about the ban here. This BBC video clip shows a passenger explaining how the Iran Air plane's tyres burst when it landed at Manston, stranding the hapless Iranians in Thanet for the night.

Although the small fraction of Iran Air's fleet that is regarded as airworthy is allowed to land in London (not sure what they do about landing fees) they have to refuel elsewhere. Manton is apparently "devoid of American trade connections" and is thus free to flaunt the American sanctions without fear of retribution. If Manston ever tries running flights to the States, I expect they will find that the US Government and the Federal Aviation Authority have long and unforgiving memories. (Incidentally, does anyone know if Infratil has any "economic ties with the US"?)

So there you have it - Manston can get away with selling jet fuel to the Iranians because they are insignificant enough to slip through the American's sanctions net. When viewed alongside the track records some of Manston's other customers - MK Airlines' stop-frame bankruptcy; Kam Air's DC-8 close brush with disaster; Cargolux's part in the international criminal price-fixing cartel - it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Manston: judge them by the companies they keep.

Iran Air at Manston

Yet another one of our eagle-eyed readers has raised an important and interesting question:

HAS ANY ONE NOTICED THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK FLIGHTS TO MANSTON BY IRAN AIR? I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE CARRYING TO THE U.K.

You can tell it's important, because it's all in CAPITALS.

And it's interesting because not many Iran Air planes are even allowed to fly anywhere near Europe... Here's what our beloved Foreign & Commonwealth Office have to say:

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Safety and Security - Local Travel - Air Travel

The state carrier, Iran Air, has been refused permission to operate services to the EU with the exception of 14 aircraft of type A300, eight aircraft of type A310 and one aircraft of type B737. This restriction has been put in place because Iran Air has been unable to demonstrate that a number of aircraft in its fleet (including those of type A320, Boeing 727, B747-100, B747-200 and B747-SP) meet international safety standards.

You should be aware that Iranian airlines suffer from an increased probability of accident. Reports suggest that the accident rate among Iranian airlines is approximately four times that of airlines in the Middle East. Many of the planes flown on domestic routes in Iran are ageing. There have been a number of serious accidents in recent years.

On 9 January 2011, a 727 Boeing domestic Iran Air flight crashed near Orumieh in North-West Iran. Of the 105 passengers, at least 72 were reported killed and 33 injured. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

On 24 January 2010, a Taban Airlines Topolov plane flying from Esfhan to Mashad damaged its tail while landing and caught fire. 42 of the 157 passengers on board were injured.

On 24 July 2009, an Aria Airlines Ilyushin plane flying from Tehran to Mashhad skidded off the runway whilst landing and hit a wall. 16 of the 153 passengers and crew on board were killed.

On 15 July 2009, a Caspian Airlines plane crashed 75 miles northwest of Tehran shortly after takeoff from Imam Khomeini Airport. All 168 passengers and crew onboard were killed. The cause of the crash has not yet been revealed.

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I would have thought that after coming unnervingly close to annihilating Ramsgate with an Afghani plane full to bursting with aviation fuel, our Kiwi chums who run Manston would be super-sensitive about the calibre of airlines that they allow to operate over our heads. Well, I can dream, can't I?

Anyway, here at NNF HQ, facts win prizes! So, there's prizes that are notionally worth thousands of dollars on offer for the first of you to tell me exactly what type of aircraft Iran Air is flying in, what their schedule is (if there is one), and what they're carrying.

Iran Air: US sanctions in June 2011

The US has imposed economic sanctions on Iran's national airline, saying Iran Air had supported the Iranian military.

In a statement, the treasury department also said the airline had provided "material support and services" to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. It said the paramilitary group supported terrorism and committed human rights abuses against protesters.

The US accuses Iran of aiming to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its programme is wholly peaceful. In addition, the US treasury department accused Iranian port company Tidewater Middle East Company of the Revolutionary Guard Corp of exporting arms and military equipment from the seven ports it operates in the country.

"Preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons is a top US government priority and we remain deeply concerned about Iran's nuclear intentions," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a joint statement. "The United States is committed to a dual-track policy of applying pressure in pursuit of constructive engagement, and a negotiated solution."

Iran Air has faced US sanctions since 1995, preventing it from buying aircraft or spare parts from Boeing or Airbus. Last year, the European Commission banned Iran Air jets from European air space, citing safety concerns.

The new sanctions mean no US company will be able to do business with Iran Air or Tidewater, and if the companies hold any assets in the US, those will now be frozen.

"The US and our partners remain fully committed to a diplomatic solution with Iran," Mrs Clinton and Mr Geithner said. "However, until Iran is prepared to engage seriously with us on such a solution, we will continue to increase pressure against Iranian entities of concern."

BBC 23rd Jun 2011

Iran Air: European ban in July 2010

Most of Iran Air's jets will be banned from flying to the EU because of safety concerns, the European Commission says.

The ban affects Airbus A320, Boeing 727 and 747 jets - two-thirds of Iran Air's fleet. The Commission said the ban was on safety grounds, and was not related to sanctions imposed on Iran because of its nuclear programme.

Iran has denied a claim that its planes are being prevented from refuelling at some foreign airports. Earlier an Iranian aviation official had accused the UK, Germany and the United Arab Emirates of refusing to supply fuel for Iranian airliners. But a foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday that "no such limitation has been imposed". And the UK, Germany and UAE all denied the claim.

Last week the US approved new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. Tehran says its nuclear industry is for peaceful purposes, but Western powers fear it is trying to develop a bomb.

A US ban on spare parts for Iranian jets has hit Iran Air's maintenance operation, the Associated Press news agency reports.

BBC 6th Jul 2010