A soon-to-be operationalized terminal at Imam Khomeini International Airport will handle some of the foreign flights now being hosted at Terminal 1.
According to the caretaker of Imam Khomeini Airport City Company, Ali Rostami, Salam Terminal will come on stream by the Iranian yearend (March 2019).
"The new terminal will have the capacity to transport five million passengers per year," he told ILNA.
Tehran's IKIA currently only operates international flights while Mehrabad International Airport handles domestic and hajj and pilgrimage flights to Saudi Arabia and Iraq respectively.
Rostami added that IKIA will soon start operating domestic flights, too.
“Over time, domestic flights’ passengers will be divided between Terminal 1 and Salam Terminal. At the beginning, around one million passengers of domestic flights will be shifted to Terminal 1,” he said.
So far, 5 trillion rials ($43.47 million) have been invested on the development of Salam Terminal
He told Mehr News Agency that so far, 5 trillion rials ($43.47 million) have been invested on the development of Salam Terminal.
Meanwhile, plans are underway to build another terminal at the airport. Iranshahr Terminal’s first development phase has been designed to handle 25 million passengers per year and will reach 110 million passengers annually upon the completion of its third and final phase.
IKIA presently has a passenger capacity of around five million per year. However, in the last Iranian year (March 2017-18), the airport hosted over nine million passengers.
In an exclusive interview with Financial Tribune in June, CEO of Imam Khomeini International Airport City Company Shahram Adamnejad said the airport’s passenger capacity will reach 120 million per year upon the completion of the two terminals.
IKIA registered a traffic growth rate of 11.5% in 2017, 3% higher than the global average.
Latest statistics released by Iran Airports Company show that 32,099 takeoffs and landings in the Iranian month ending Oct. 22 marked a 21% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 5,378 international takeoffs and landings were registered during the period to register a 27% decline in traffic compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 26,721 takeoffs and landings were registered for domestic flights during the period, down 19% year-on-year.
Some 3.02 million passengers were transported domestically, indicating a 24% decline YOY.
IKIA ranked third on the list of Iran's busiest airport by handling 517,464 passengers.
Mehrabad International Airport was the busiest Iranian airport for the month, with 9,561 takeoffs and landings, showing an 18% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
Mashhad International Airport was the second busiest airport with 4,630 flights carrying 676,472 passengers.
IKIA has the biggest share of international flights operated in Iran and Mehrabad the biggest in terms of domestic ones.
IKIA's deputy chief for infrastructure development told Mehr News Agency that plans are underway to have 12 kilometers of railroad used by the Tehran-Qom-Isfahan high-speed train pass through IKIA’s underground passage.
Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport has been distinguished as the third fastest-growing major airport in the world. A new study by Routes Online shows the airport grew in terms of passenger numbers by 48.6% during the first half of 2018 to 3.93 million, helped by Ata Airlines, following the rise in frequencies to Istanbul Ataturk.
Operated by Iran Airports Company, IKIA is located 30 kilometers southwest of Iran's capital city Tehran.
