Britain, Germany, UAE deny refusing fuel to Iran planes

An Iranian official said that airports in Britain, Germany and the United Arab Emirates had started to refuse to refuel passenger planes from Iran but the reports were denied in all three countries yesterday.

"Since last week, after the passing of the unilateral law by America and the sanctions against Iran, airports in England, Germany, the UAE have refused to give fuel to Iranian planes," said Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union, quoted by ISNA news agency.

Mr Aliyari said their refusal has so far impacted Iran Air, the national carrier, and a leading private airline, Mahan Air, as both operate several flights to Europe. Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh, an MP and member of the Iranian Parliament's committee on foreign policy and national security, warned of retaliatory action by Tehran, especially towards the United Arab Emirates.

"We should definitely do the same thing to the Emirates, Britain and Germany whose planes need to be refuelled in Iran," he told ISNA.

But in London, a British government spokesman said: "At present Her Majesty's government is not aware of any occasions when fuel has been refused in the UK."

And a Dubai airport spokesman said Iranian planes were still able to refuel. "Iranian planes travelling to and from Dubai through Dubai International Airport still enjoy the refueling service," he said.

The General Civil Aviation Authority which oversees the sector in the UAE, of which Dubai is a member, said it did not have information of any such ban on Iranian planes.

However, a source close to the aviation sector in the UAE told AFP there was a problem with an international fuel supplier.

"A servicing company which provides fuelling at several airports around the world has refused to provide Iranian planes with fuel, including at UAE terminals," he said.

"The Iranian air operators have alternative sources for refuelling at UAE airports," he added, requesting anonymity.

The German office of Iran Air, meanwhile, appeared to dismiss the reports from Tehran.

"It is not correct," Mohammad Reza Rajabi, the head of the airline's operations in Germany, said. He said flights and fuelling services had continued without interruption in Germany.