Iranian Jet Seized in Istanbul Over €3 Million Debt
ISTANBUL: A Caspian Airlines passenger jet stood ready for take off at Istanbul Airport, boarding complete and engines quiet, when Turkish bailiffs and lawyers stepped onto the tarmac and halted its departure. The aircraft, registered EP‑KPB, was seized on September 28 over an unpaid bill of roughly 3 million euros owed to a Turkish aviation firm, local media reported.
Within minutes, the grounded plane became a scene of confusion and disappointment. Passengers and cabin crew were ordered off the aircraft and sent back into the terminal, their journey to Iran suspended by a court order enforced far from any courtroom. For the creditor’s representatives, the seizure was a final move in a long financial dispute; for travelers, it was an abrupt interruption framed by the wider pressures shadowing Iran’s civil aviation.
The incident unfolds as Iranian carriers navigate tightening international restrictions. Washington has warned that, after September 23, it will target companies anywhere in the world that continue doing business with Iranian airlines, aiming to squeeze Tehran’s ability to keep its civilian fleet flying. In response, several regional states including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have withdrawn landing rights for Iranian operators.
Türkiye remains one of the few nearby destinations still open to Iranian flights, though the corridor is narrowing. Iran’s private carrier Mahan Air recently suspended services to Türkiye at the request of Turkish authorities. Even so, air links have not been severed: Iran Air and smaller Iranian airlines continue to run multiple daily rotations between Tehran and Istanbul, according to flight data from both capitals.
For now, the seized Caspian jet sits parked under the gaze of stranded travelers, a tangible symbol of how sanctions, debts and diplomacy can converge on a single runway and how quickly a routine departure can become a geopolitical footnote.
