Nearly 20 flights cancelled as Iran hit by internet blackout

At least 17 flights between Dubai and Iran scheduled for Friday have been cancelled.

A countrywide internet blackout was reported in Iran on Thursday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as video showed buildings and vehicles ablaze in anti-government protests raging through the streets of several cities.

Nationwide protests over economic hardships started at the end of December with shopkeepers and bazaar merchants demonstrating over inflation and the rial, but soon spread to universities and provincial cities.

In a televised address, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to back down, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of émigré opposition groups and the United States, as rights groups reported police firing on protesters in the south.

A flydubai spokesperson said that flights to Iranian cities, including Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad, on Friday had been cancelled and that the airline "will continue to monitor the situation" and revise its flight schedule accordingly, without giving a reason for the disruption.

In addition, Turkish media have said Turkish Airlines cancelled 17 flights, Turkey's Ajet cancelled six flights and budget carrier Pegasus Airlines cancelled flights to Iranian cities on Friday.

At least two flights between Qatar's Doha and Tehran scheduled for Friday were also cancelled, the Hamad International Airport website showed.