Lufthansa: No Fuel in Tehran
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 10:42 AM
Is Washington endangering international airline passengers as a result of its unwarranted and reckless policy of economic sanctions against Iran? (See below. My emphasis in red.) The short answer is yes.
There seems to be no limit to what Washington will do when it comes to what Tel Aviv wants to be done to Iran. Can we expect an American or a European leader to blow the whistle on this international scandal sometime soon? Why is Berlin and the EU going along with the madness emanating from Washington and Tel Aviv? Are Berlin and the EU afraid of the consequences, if they don't go along?
The targeting of Iran is like the targeting of Iraq from 1990 to 2003. Are you prepared to travel down the same road twice? What for? Can't America learn from its mistakes and recognize when it is being taken advantage of and being used to no good end? Is it in America's interest, or in anybody's interest, to make the world a more dangerous place?
But that is precisely what Washington has been doing as a consequence of its foreign policy ever since 1990. That is a point which my most recent article tries to make. The situation is bizarre and irrational if taken at face value. It can only be understood by reference to intensive pressure applied by the international Israel lobby upon both Washington and Europe. Otherwise, none of this would be happening.
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http://www.lobelog.com/lufthansa-to-iran-customers-dont-be-scared-if-we-start-to-run-out-of-gas/
Lufthansa To Iran Customers: Don’t Be Scared If We Start To Run Out Of Gas
International and U.S. extra-territorial sanctions against Iran are often credited with making travel on Iranian commercial airlines relatively unsafe. International companies won’t sell Iran spare parts for even routine maintenance on their fleet. But a new potential side effect of energy sanctions against Iran are causing worries about more than just Iran’s domestic fleet of passenger aircraft.
Because of sanctions, international flights no longer refuel at Iranian airports. For European airlines, that means that they either have to depart with enough fuel for both legs of the long journey or add refueling stops to their heretofore direct flights.
A source in Iran recently forwarded me an e-mail from German carrier Lufthansa, Europe’s largest, making clear that though the airline intends to fill the tank for both legs, unscheduled stops may still be necessary. The message is clear: Please don’t be scared if we start to run out of gas on the way home!
The e-mail, with my emphasis, reads:
Due to non-availability of fuel from Tehran, following actions have been implemented by Lufthansa:
Lufthansa takes substantial additional fuel in Frankfurt on the flight leg to Tehran. This ensures Lufthansa aircraft have sufficient fuel for both the legs Frankfurt to Tehran and Tehran to Frankfurt. As such, there is no need for a change in our schedule and our flights Frankfurt-Tehran-Frankfurt operate nonstop in both directions.
Nevertheless, there might be very exceptional cases when additional fueling en route to Frankfurt might be required, in which case the pilot will make the decision to land at an airport on the way back to Frankfurt. We would, however, like to stress that such occasions are expected to be very rare.