...

Iran continues to purchase old Boeing planes

Business Materials 21 April 2015 12:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 21

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

An Iranian airline has bought three old Boeing 737 planes.

The planes are 24 years old and were bought from one of the south eastern Asian countries.

It is while Iran's administration has banned domestic airlines from importing or renting the planes older than 15 years.

The bought planes were manufactured in 1991 and have made over 60,000 hours of flight, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported April 21.

No information was published about the company which has bought the planes or the seller country.

The planes were not being used in the country Iran bought them from.

Previously there was no age-limitation for imported aircrafts, so the Iranian airlines have imported planes even as old as 40 years.

However the country banned old plane imports aimed to renew the Islamic Republic's civil air fleet.

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 November head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Alireza Jahangirian said that the country needs at least 300 operational airplanes, while currently the country has only about 150, each of which are averagely 20 years old. The Islamic Republic also has 76 in storage with an average age of 24 years.

While Iran has attempted to kick start its own commercial aviation manufacturing industry and has also sourced aircraft from Russia and Ukraine, its efforts to acquire Western-made aircraft and spare parts have largely failed due to sanctions.

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh

Tags:
Latest

Latest