Tehran, Iran, Mar. 11
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
A deal between Iran and the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR, which had been halted due to sanctions-related problems, has got past the bottleneck and now Iran is hopeful about bringing ATR planes home.
Asqar Fakhriyeh Kashan, deputy minister of transport, said, “Last night Iranian officials and ATR managers held a meeting in France, where the French side said they will accept all their obligations regarding the sale of aircraft to Iran.”
“So, there is no problem for the airplanes to enter Iran,” said Fakhriyeh Kashan, ISNA news agency reported March 11.
If successful, the ATR deal will be the second airplane purchase deal with the Islamic Republic to have gone through. Iran was not able to import any new aircraft since the 1979 revolution. But after the landmark nuclear deal of 2015, Iran signed a few deals with major aircraft makers, including Airbus, Boeing, and ATR.
On March 11, Iran received its second brand-new airplane, an Airbus 330-200. Iran’s first brand-new A321 Airbus aircraft landed in Tehran on January 12 after 38 years of international embargo.
Under sanctions, Iran’s aviation industry has become aged and remains underdeveloped. The country plans to buy about 500 new aircraft in the near future.