Iran's Aviation Industry in 1397; Dreams That Were Blown Away

Iran's aviation industry hoped to enter a new phase in 1397 with the delivery of the first Boeing aircraft after 40 years, but all these dreams were shattered with the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. Boeing was supposed to deliver the first of 80 aircraft ordered by Iran Air in Ordibehesht 1397. The Boeing 777 model was the longest-range aircraft at that time. Iran Air had removed long-haul routes from its flight paths due to the grounding of its 747 models for several years. The national airline of Iran has not been able to cover long-haul routes such as Japan, China, or Malaysia for years. The company was so confident about receiving the Boeing orders that it rejected Airbus's offer to deliver several second-hand Airbus A340s. Airbus had informed Iran Air that it could take several low-utilization second-hand Airbus A340s from the company until the delivery of its new aircraft. The Airbus A340 could easily cover long-haul routes, but Iran Air, confident in receiving new aircraft, rejected this offer from Airbus. Since the second half of 1396, Iran Air had been unable to secure suitable financial credit for the delivery of Airbus aircraft due to the fear of global banks. This factor had caused delays in the delivery of Airbus aircraft, and Iran Air, which was supposed to have more than 10 new Airbus aircraft at the beginning of 1397, only had three new Airbus aircraft. However, the company hoped that the delivery of Boeing aircraft would change the situation a bit. But after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Boeing was the first company to announce that it could not deliver Iran Air's orders. Iran Air and other Iranian airlines hoped that Airbus, unlike Boeing, would deliver several aircraft to Iran by the end of the specified deadline to alleviate the critical condition of Iran's aging fleet. Boeing had committed to selling 80 aircraft to Iran Air and 30 aircraft to Aseman Airlines, valued at over $20 billion. An additional 10 Boeing aircraft were ordered for Qeshm Air. Of these 120 aircraft, 90 were Boeing 737 models, with 50 ordered for Iran Air, 30 for Aseman, and 10 for Qeshm Air. Another 30 were Boeing 777s for Iran Air. The delivery of these models could have transformed Iran's aviation industry and brought Iran back into the global aviation industry, but Boeing could no longer sell aircraft to Iran under the new conditions. In Ordibehesht 1397, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that following Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the nuclear agreement with Iran, the licenses for the sale of Airbus and Boeing aircraft to Iran would be revoked. Any passenger aircraft that has at least 10% of its parts made by American companies must receive official approval from the U.S. Treasury Department or OFAC for sale to Iran. At that time, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that the license related to the sale of aircraft to Iran would be revoked after a 90-day period. Airbus had signed contracts and memorandums with Iran Air for the sale of 100 aircraft, with Iran Air Tour for the sale of 45 aircraft, and with Zagros Airlines for the sale of 28 aircraft. In the months following the JCPOA, Iran's aviation industry, which hoped to return to the market and compete in the aviation industry and regain its weight in the region, only hoped to stabilize the situation with the delivery of a few aircraft in the first half of 1397. Iranian airlines had two years to purchase new or low-utilization second-hand aircraft. Iran Air had even rejected the offer to deliver several second-hand Airbus A340s from Airbus due to the fear of pressure from hardline media. The company had also missed several golden opportunities. Iran Air had removed long-haul routes from its flight paths for several years due to the grounding of its 747 models. One of these opportunities dates back to when Turkish Airlines, due to financial problems, canceled the purchase of two Boeing 777s. At this time, Boeing offered to sell these two models to Iran Air, but Iran Air did not accept this request. Some say that Iran Air and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development rejected this golden opportunity for fear of criticism from government opponents. At that time, with the delivery of the first series of Airbus aircraft to Iran, critics of the JCPOA claimed that the aircraft delivered by Airbus were returns from other companies. The Tasnim news agency had published a report at that time with the headline, 'Why are the Airbus aircraft delivered to Iran returns?' The deadline set by the U.S. Treasury Department expired without Airbus, like Boeing, delivering any aircraft to Iran Air and other Iranian companies during the remaining time. Only ATR delivered five ATR 72 models to Iran Air in the final days before the deadline, concluding the JCPOA aircraft saga with three Airbus aircraft for Iran Air and 13 ATR 72s. After this event, Russian companies tried to establish a foothold in Iran, but these companies also could not deliver any aircraft to Iran due to the use of American and Western parts in their products. The Chinese, like the Russians, did not sell any aircraft to Iran for fear of sanctions, and the trip of Iran Air's CEO to China to purchase from COMAC also ended without results. Currently, Iran Air and other Iranian companies are trying to circumvent sanctions to buy second-hand aircraft. In the last effort, Iran Air purchased three Airbus A319s produced in 2003 in the final days of 1397. With the worsening conditions and increasing pressure from sanctions and the economic crisis, apart from the problem of purchasing aircraft, the development plan for Iran's airports also remained practically unfinished in 1397.