British Airways resumes direct flights to Tehran

TEHRAN, Aug 10 (AFP) -A British Airways jet left Tehran for London Monday as the company resumed direct flights between the capitals for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The crew arrived from London Sunday and stayed overnight after British Airways secured permission from Iran last week to become the first foreign airline since the revolution to be allowed overnight stays for their personnel.

Before the revolution stopovers in Tehran by foreign airline crews were routine, but airlines abandoned the practice because of the impact of the revolution and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

British Airways has offered intermittent service to Iran since 1979 but only via Cyprus, Bahrain, Syria or Azerbaijan.

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