Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 24
By Fatih Karimov- Trend:
Iran will sign a contract for the purchase of 114 Airbus during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to France which is scheduled for January 27, Abbas Akhoundi, the Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development said.
The planes will be bought for Iran's flag carrier Iran Air, Akhoundi said, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The Iranian minister did not specify the value of the contract.
He added that Tehran plans to negotiate with Boeing to purchase passenger planes as well.
The Iranian president is scheduled to visit Italy and France from January 25 to 27. This is his first official visit to Europe which is paid after the end of the country's isolation as the international sanctions against Iran were removed by the implementation of the nuclear deal Jan. 16.
Akhoundi further said that Iran currently has 256 passenger planes with 150 of them operational.
The average age of Iranian planes is about 20 years, he said, adding Tehran needs 400 long-range and medium-range aircrafts as well as 100 short-range planes to serve as air taxi.
The US-led sanctions on aircraft and spare parts exports to Iran have left the Iranian airlines saddled with not only some of the oldest fleet in the Middle East, but in the world.
Back in April 2015, the head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said the country needs to buy up to 500 passenger planes in the next 10 years to renovate its ageing fleet.
The analysts say Iran's air fleet will grow, however in the near term the country will have to settle for the lease of planes.