Iran to Increase Civil Air Fleet to 500 Planes by 2025
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A senior Iranian aviation official said the country plans to boost its national civil air fleet by increasing the number of passenger planes to 500 within the next 13 years.
Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Hamid Reza Pahlevani said on Thursday that the country has set out a plan to increase the number of its airliners to 500 by 2025, with the aim of lowering the average age of its national aerial fleet.
Also commenting on Iran’s aviation industry, Pahlevani said, “18 local airlines with more than 243 planes operate more than 1,100 domestic and international flights every day.”
Iran has several private and public airline companies in operation. The oldest is the state-run Iran Air.
The expansion of Iran's civil aircraft fleet comes despite the US-led sanctions against the country's civil aviation industry since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
According to the sanctions, international companies are banned from selling aircraft or their spare parts to Iran.
Iran is currently cooperating with Ukraine and Russia in the production and operation of the Antonov-140 airliner, which can carry 52 passengers.
After purchasing the production license for the An-140 from Ukraine in 2000, Iran built its first Iran-140 passenger plane in 2003.
