Mehrabad in 1979
With international airlines reducing or canceling service, and a lack of clear authority at the airport, ticket availability was scarce. Many people were stranded, not knowing whether they could find a way out. Those associated with the Shah’s government or perceived as Western sympathizers feared arrest, retribution, or worse. Some attempted to leave with falsified documents or disguised identities, while others left behind all their possessions, hoping to reunite with loved ones later.
Although many who fled were elites or part of the educated middle class, they were not the only ones. Religious minorities, political activists from non-Islamist factions, and women fearing a rollback of rights also sought refuge abroad. Mehrabad became a symbol of exodus and exile—a physical threshold between a vanishing past and an unknown future.
