Hamed Momeni, acting secretary-general of the Iranian Football Federation, thanked the UAE Football Association for its cooperation and efforts to secure a landing permit for Tractor FC’s charter flight. After several days of uncertainty, the team departed Tabriz for Dubai on a direct, dedicated Meraj Airlines flight on the morning of Sunday, October 25, ahead of their AFC Champions League Elite Matchweek 3 clash with Al Ain.

In the letter, Momeni also expressed his pleasure at a recent meeting with UAE Football Association officials on the sidelines of Asian Football Confederation meetings in Tokyo and thanked them for coordinating the landing of the aircraft carrying Tractor’s players. He had previously said that the UAE association’s secretary-general had pledged to follow up on the landing permit.

The Iranian club’s travel difficulties intensified after its previous journey via Iraq to Muscat for its Matchweek 2 fixture against Qatar’s Al Shamal took 18 hours, according to Tractor team manager Khodadad Azizi. Tractor subsequently wrote to the AFC, the UAE Football Association and Al Ain, requesting a landing permit for ATA Airlines, which is owned by club owner Mohammad Reza Zenouzi, and warned that it would not travel to the UAE unless approval was granted.

The US Treasury Department sanctioned ATA Airlines and several other Iranian carriers on September 8. From September 24, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority also suspended flights by Iranian airlines to and from the UAE until further notice following US restrictions. Tractor chief executive Hojjat Karimi said the club had been asked to pay $100,000 for an alternative flight using a state-owned aircraft, an amount he described as difficult to cover.

Tractor announced on the evening of Saturday, October 24, that the travel issue had been resolved with the “support and cooperation of Meraj Airlines”. Following an agreement with club owner Mohammad Reza Zenouzi, part of the cost of the dedicated flight was reduced. However, the final price was not disclosed.

Al Ain will host Tractor at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain at 8pm UAE time on Monday, October 26. Esteghlal, Iran’s other representative in the AFC Champions League Elite, are also expected to travel from Tehran to Dubai on a dedicated flight ahead of their match against Shabab Al Ahli at Rashid Stadium on Tuesday, October 27.