Iran to Purchase 114 Airbus Aircraft

During the visit of Iran's President to Europe, a contract for the purchase of 114 Airbus aircraft by Iran is set to be signed. This announcement was made by Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, on Sunday, January 24, during an aviation conference in Tehran. According to Iranian state radio, the agreement for this major deal will be finalized during Hassan Rouhani's visit to France. Rouhani is set to undertake his postponed trip to Italy and France this week and will be a guest of French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday. Akhoundi has expressed hope that the delivery of the first Airbus aircraft to Iran will begin before the end of the current solar year and emphasized that the country is considering the possibility of conducting transactions with other passenger aircraft manufacturers as well. The Minister of Roads stated that Iran is also exploring the option of purchasing aircraft from the American manufacturer Boeing. Despite having a population of nearly eighty million and a middle class that prefers air travel, Iran has a weak air fleet. The Minister confirmed that nearly forty percent of Iran's current fleet of 256 passenger aircraft are effectively 'grounded,' and the rest are considered very old. Mehdi Hashemi, head of the Development Commission of the Parliament, quoted aviation officials as saying that this large passenger population in the country needs at least five hundred new aircraft. Some media outlets affiliated with the conservative faction in Iran have recently claimed that the Airbus planes being delivered to Iran are 'second-hand' and have been in service for eleven years. However, Farhad Parvaresh, CEO of Iran Air, stated in an interview with Fars News Agency regarding the 'age' of the aircraft Iran intends to purchase from Airbus, 'It has been agreed that all these aircraft will be new.' Since the beginning of the hostage crisis involving American diplomats, Iran has not only been deprived of purchasing aircraft made in the United States but has also been unable to receive spare parts for its very old planes, which were purchased during the Pahlavi regime. During this period, American courts prosecuted dozens for attempting to buy spare parts for Iranian aircraft and sending them to Iran. During the decade-long sanctions on Iran, aircraft manufacturing companies based in Europe also refrained from selling aircraft to Iran in compliance with EU sanctions. Thousands of Iranians have died in the crashes of passenger planes, most of which were made in Russia. However, the implementation of the final nuclear agreement and the lifting of a significant portion of sanctions on Iran since last Sunday appears to have ushered in a new era for Iran's aviation industry. Recently, Iran Air was also allowed for the first time in years to operate its first flight from Orly Airport in Paris to Tehran. Farhad Parvaresh, CEO of Iran Air, also announced on Sunday, January 24, in Tehran that several major European airports have resumed refueling Iranian passenger aircraft, which had been halted for several years. According to Mr. Parvaresh, refueling for Iran Air flights on routes to Amsterdam, London, Vienna, Cologne, Hamburg, and Paris is being conducted without the need for the aircraft to land at a third airport for refueling. Regarding the possibility of resuming direct flights between Iran and the U.S., the CEO of Iran Air stated in an interview with Fars News Agency that this matter is 'subject to negotiations by the Civil Aviation Organization and air agreements.' U.S. officials had expressed interest in renewing direct flights between Tehran and a city like New York, aiming to facilitate communications for academic figures, students, and other exchanges between the two countries, even before the lifting of sanctions.