Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Foreign airlines hold a major share of international flights in Iran, according to data released by the Iranian Roads and Urban Development Ministry.
Turkish Airlines holds a 12 percent share of the total international flights, followed by Flydubai, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Air Arabia, Gulf Air, Saudia, Oman Air, and Kuwait Airways.
This is while some 40 percent of the Iranian air fleet is grounded and other aircraft have focused on domestic flights.
The two major Iranian airlines, Mahan and Homa, hold just 35 percent of Iran's international flights.
Currently, some 37 foreign airlines make flights from Iran to 57 world's airports, Morteza Dehghan, the head of the Airports, Airlines and Aeronautical Institutions Supervision Office at the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, said on September 6.
Foreign airlines make flights from 32 points across the world to Iran's cities of Tehran, Shiraz, Abadan, Isfahan, Mashhad, Urmia, Rasht, Tabriz, Ahwaz, Bandar Abbas, and Kermanshah.
Former head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, Ali Reza Jahangirian, said in July that foreign airlines earn some $3 billion by selling tickets in the country annually.