Baku, Azerbaijan, July 11
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Number of operating aircraft in the Iranian air fleet hit record high over the past year, said Hamid Habibi, the deputy director of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO).
Currently, 168 airplanes are operating in the national fleet, which was unprecedented in the country's aviation industry's history, Habibi said, the official website of the CAO reported July 11.
The national air fleet has 257 airplanes, including 251 passenger planes with a total capacity of 41,218 seats, he noted.
In the current Iranian fiscal year, which started on March 21, 14 Airbuses and Boeings have been overhauled and joined the national air fleet, he said.
Iran's administration has banned domestic airlines from importing or renting the planes older than 15 years 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.
Last year, Ali Reza Jahangirian, former head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, said the country's airliners would need to order 400 aircraft over the next 10 years to replace its depleting and ageing fleet.