TEHRAN,Iran, Feb.5
Trend:
The number of flights to Iran's Imam Khomeini Airport has dropped by some 30 percent, following the recent Ukrainian plane crash, said the managing director of Imam Khomeini Airport City Mehdi Karbalae, Trend reports via IRNA.
"There are talks in place to improve the situation, this won't stay permanent," Karbalae said.
"The situation has improved compared to last week, but the coronavirus outbreak has created new problems for flights from China," he said.
He went on to add that Iranian students and other citizens of Iran are being transported from China to Iran, as the Foreign Ministry is taking necessary measures in this regard.
Karbalae also said that it is expected that by developing four phases of the airport, its capacity will increase to 90 million passengers a year.
A Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane with 167 passengers (including Iranian and foreign citizens) and 9 crew members on board crashed Jan. 8, after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran.
The plane was heading for Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. The plane took off at 06:12 (GMT+3:30), and at 06:18, it lost connection with the dispatcher center. The plane crashed at 6:22.
Following the investigation, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran released a statement saying that the Ukrainian aircraft was unintentionally shot down by Iran, due to a human error.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani expressed regret over the tragic incident.