Suspension of Pilot and Crew of 'Taftan Air' Due to Leaving Praying Passengers Behind

The pilot of the flight from Zahedan to Tehran of 'Taftan Air' and 15 employees of the company were suspended for 15 days after 25 passengers who had just performed morning prayers were left behind. The local website 'Delgan Press' reported that the flight crew and pilot left behind 25 passengers who were engaged in morning prayers beside the airplane and took off for Tehran. The flight was scheduled to depart at 4:30 AM from Zahedan but took off with an 18-minute delay. According to 'Delgan Press', these 25 passengers stood to pray three minutes before departure, realizing that they would miss their morning prayers by the time they reached Tehran, but due to the insistence and urgency of the pilot, the stairs were detached from the airplane and it flew away. The news prompted further inquiries from 'Young Journalists Club', where Abolfazl Haghighi, the director of 'Taftan Air', confirmed the report and apologized to the stranded passengers, announcing the 15-day suspension of the pilot. Mr. Haghighi stated that 'penalties' were also imposed on the 15 employees of the company. He attributed the decision of the flight crew to the Army Day maneuvers in Tehran, stating that all flights on that day needed to arrive at Mehrabad Airport before 7:30 AM. He added that if this flight had not landed at Mehrabad Airport on time, it would have faced several hours of delay. The local website 'Asr Hamoon' also followed up on the matter, quoting the CEO of 'Taftan Air' who said that 'the Taftan airplane tried to complete this flight before the airport closed for the convenience of its passengers.' Haghighi mentioned that 'some passengers and clergymen intended to perform their prayers before the flight, and the pilot also tried to take off on time due to the closing of Mehrabad Airport to avoid any issues for passengers.' He further added that 'after this incident, we dealt with the pilot and staff of Taftan Air in Zahedan and suspended everyone for 15 days to show that this matter is by no means acceptable.' Haghighi also told IRNA that 'given that Tehran's airports were completely closed at 6 AM for Army Day and no flights were allowed to take off or land, it was decided to expedite this flight for the convenience of passengers.' He added that 'Taftan Air had informed all passengers of this flight about the situation.' Haghighi noted that 'before the flight, passengers are requested to pray in a designated area of the airplane, but unfortunately, these passengers refrained from praying inside the airplane and missed the flight.' Following a directive from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, flights in Iran during the time of the morning call to prayer and 'prayer time' have been prohibited, and for years, airlines have been trying to schedule their flights in coordination with the call to prayer. In this regard, in 2012, Hamidreza Pahlevani, the then-head of the Civil Aviation Organization, announced the issuance of a directive to domestic airlines to adjust flight times during the morning call to prayer. Pahlevani stated that 'with the issuance of this directive and considering the emphasis of the Supreme Leader on implementing this matter, the time of the morning prayer at the origin and destination will not overlap with the flight schedule.' He also added that 'with the implementation of this directive, flights will be allowed to take off at least 30 minutes after the morning call to prayer, and this time will be available for passengers to fulfill their religious obligations.'