Baku, Azerbaijan, April 9
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Flights abroad during Novruz holidays in Iran decreased by 50 percent, said Maqsood Asadi Samani, secretary of the Iranian Aviation and Space Industries Association, Trend reports referring to Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
According to Asadi Samani, domestic flights decreased by 20 percent during holidays.
Asadi Samani added that, due to the economic situation of the citizens and the occurrence of floods, the number of flights dropped to a considerable extent during the Novruz holidays.
"Warning given to citizens to avoid traveling to regions affected by floods also triggered a decline in flights," he said.
Asadi Samani added that, according to the rules, each passenger must pay a fine for airline companies if they cancel the flight for any reason. However, due to the floods, tickets were fully reimbursed to customers.
Saying that airline companies are trying to continue their activities despite the pressure from sanctions and the problems of currency supply, Asadi Samani added that the sanctions have restricted access to obtaining spare parts for airplanes, and NIMA currency is not regularly given to airline companies.
He also said that every hour of a flight currently costs about $45-50 to airline companies, and that companies are trying to serve passengers accordingly.
Stressing that applying fixed rates to airline companies is damaging to users and investors, Asadi Samani noted that, should the government leave the price assignment up to the industry’s demands and suggestions, the will of the users, alongside that of the companies, will also be met.
"For example, the cost of a ticket for Tehran-Mashhad flight is 1.5 million rials (app. $35.7). However, due to the flight, it costs 6 million rials (app. $142) for companies,” he said.