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Iran keen to rejoin aviation community

25 October 2016 13:38 (UTC+04:00)
Iran keen to rejoin aviation community

By Nigar Abbasova

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which suffered a lot from the longstanding economic sanctions imposed on it, intends to revive its aviation industry.

The international sanctions imposed on the country had not only economic effects, but left the travel and aviation sphere of the country depressed. The implementation of the landmark deal with six world powers to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief gave a huge stimulus for revitalizing and developing Iran’s aviation industry.

The barriers that the country faced have left it operating one of the oldest fleets in the world, while local airlines had no choice but to make use of outdated and obsolete aircrafts and supplies. Moreover, a number of the leading European airlines halted their flights to Iran due to international sanctions over the past years.

The aviation sector of the country, which mainly suffered from underfunding and severe infrastructure deficits, is now considered to be one of the key sectors that may lead to modernization and development.

The first airline to announce its comeback was Air France. Other major airlines such as British Airways, Air Astana, KLM Royal Dutch also commenced their routes to Iran.

Moreover, the lifting of international sanctions gave a green light for aircraft sales to Iran allowing the world's largest aerospace companies and leading manufacturers to deliver planes to Tehran.

Such aviation giants as Boeing and Airbus earlier got licenses to make business with Iran selling commercial aircrafts and spare parts to Iranian airlines with no prohibitions. The license of Boeing covered the sale of some 80 planes to Iran’s national carrier, Iran Air, while Airbus confirmed the initial sale of 17 planes as part of a large deal, which involves the sale of some 118 planes.

In addition, Iranian airlines got a possibility to buy fuel in the west without making stops in Central Asia, Ukraine and Turkey for refueling.

The secretary of the Society of Iranian Airlines, Maqsoud Asadi Samani told Mehr agency that the country is planning to open up six new local airlines. The permission on the operation of flights has not yet been received. Each airline should have a qualified staff, required amount of financial means, and possess not less than five planes.

Some 15 local carriers are currently operating in the country, while the number is planned to be increased up to 23 in the future.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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