British Airways (BA) resumed direct flights from London’s Heathrow airport to Tehran on 2 September, six weeks later than first planned.

According to the original plan, the British national carrier will offer six flights a week from Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow airport to Tehran before offering daily flights by winter of 2016.

The route will be served by a four-class Boeing 777 aircraft.

BA suspended direct flights to Tehran in 2012. The route has since been served exclusively by the Islamic Republic’s state carrier Iran Air.

“The recent lifting of sanctions has… allowed Iran to reopen for business and paved the way for commerce to reconnect with Iran’s economy,” Peter Doyle, BA’s head of network and fleet, said in a company statement.

In April, a British delegation led by Minister of State at the Transport Department Robert Goodwill indicated an interest to help develop Iran’s aviation industry particularly through knowledge-transfer and training.

Air France resumed direct flights to Tehran in April, a few months after the Islamic Republic signed a deal for 118 Airbus planes worth an estimated total of $25bn based on list prices.