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Iran has held preliminary talks with a European company for building airports, Deputy Minister of Transport and Urban Development Asqar Fakhrieh said.

He added the company has announced readiness to build airports for Iran according to a plan whose first phase includes improvement of Imam Khomeini (Tehran), Mashhad, and Isfahan airports, ISNA news agency reported.

He pointed out that a major plan for the Imam Khomeini International Airport requires that the airport should be able to serve 40 million passengers a year by 2037.

Commenting on reports that Iranian companies are obliged to import airplanes no older than 15 years, he said the standard has so far been observed, noting, “We are even looking for airplanes with five years of age.”

He said Iran will import a number of airplanes before the year’s end, adding preliminary agreements on the purchase of 15 airplanes have been made.

Iran’s aviation industry is suffering from heavy international sanctions, according to which the purchase of airplanes, parts, or services is prohibited.

This has led to the formation of a fleet with an average age of 25 years, lacking safety and comfort.

Airplanes of the Iranian fleet repeatedly crash or undergo lesser critical situations. In the most recent of such incidents, one engine of an airliner busted last week while the plane had just taken off. Only for the dexterity of the pilot did the incident end in safety.

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