Iran Air has revealed plans to bring seven stored aircraft back into service because of the country’s new-found domestic maintenance capabilities. The airline hopes to have the aircraft within the skies over again inside six months.
Iran Air’s CEO, Shamseddin Farzadipour, was quoted by the ILNA news agency as saying, “” before adding that the aircraft would likely be used on busy routes to Iraq, catering for the big market of Iranian pilgrims visiting holy sites within the neighboring country.
Struggling within the face of sanctions
In consequence of sanctions that make carrying out repair work and sourcing spare parts more difficult, Iran Air has struggled to take care of its fleet of primarily Airbus aircraft. Because of a greater give attention to domestic maintenance services over recent months, the airline now hopes to be ready to return seven of its preciously-grounded aircraft to the skies.
Photo: Rebius | Shutterstock
The airline didn’t state exactly which aircraft can be returning to service, nonetheless, data from ch-aviation shows that almost two-thirds of Iran Air’s passenger fleet is currently grounded, including:
- 3 x Airbus A300s
- 2 x Airbus A310s
- 3 x Airbus A319s
- 5 x Airbus A320s
- 1 x Airbus A321
- 2 x Airbus A330-200s
- 13 x ATR 72-600s.
Iran Air’s energetic fleet of 11 passenger aircraft is left to operate the airline’s route network across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. At the top of July, the carrier will increase the frequency of its longest route, Tehran (IKA) to London Heathrow (LHR), from three to 4 per week. Iran Air’s other intercontinental destinations include Milan (MXP), Paris (CDG), and Hamburg (HAM).
Photo: Mehdi Photos | Shutterstock
Recognizing the necessity for investment in its aviation infrastructure, the Iranian Government has put aside funds to support the country’s airlines of their efforts to get their aircraft back within the skies. Numerous other Iranian carriers have reportedly already managed to return aircraft to service in this fashion, with Qeshm Air and Aseman Airlines bringing back an Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, respectively, in February this 12 months.
As well as, this system has been expanded to supply maintenance and repair services to foreign airlines also fighting sanctions. Unconfirmed reports last 12 months suggested that a lot of Russian aircraft had already been in Iran for maintenance work.
Iran Air’s fleet modernization
In addition to bringing back older aircraft, Iran Air also intends to modernize its aging fleet – something that is far needed, given the common age of the carrier’s fleet currently stands at 25.7 years old.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
Iran Air has a lot of outstanding orders with Airbus, including 32 A320neos, 28 A330neos, and 16 A350s. The orders date back to 2016, but only a handful of aircraft were delivered before the US imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018.
What do you think that of Iran Air’s plans to bring seven of its stored aircraft back into service? Have you ever flown on the airline? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.