Iran Airports Company registered 295,698 takeoffs and landings during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21), which showed a 12% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
More than 35.63 million passengers and around 359,082 tons of cargos were transported during the period, indicating a 16% and 14% decline respectively year-on-year, IAC's latest data published on its website show.
The decline in airport traffic has accelerated compared to IAC's previous data, registering 262,235 takeoffs and landings during the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22), down 11% compared with the similar period of last year.
More than 31.65 million passengers and around 321,157 tons of cargos were transported during the seven-month period, indicating a 15% and 13% decline respectively year-on-year.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport was the busiest during the period, with 85,367 takeoffs and landings showing an 11% fall
Notable, 5,378 international takeoffs and landings were registered during the Iranian month ending Oct. 22 to register a 27% decline in traffic compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 723,317 passengers were transported to and from overseas destinations in the one month under review, posting a 33% decrease year-on-year.
The latest IAC report also shows 243,747 takeoffs and landings were made by domestic flights from March 21 to Nov. 21, down 11% compared with the similar period of last year. More than 27.98 million passengers and 213,352 tons of cargo were transported domestically, both indicating a 15% decrease YOY.
On the international front, 51,951 takeoffs and landings were registered, down 16% YOY. A total of close to 7.65 million passengers and 145,729 tons of cargo were transported to and from overseas destinations, posting a 16% and 12% decrease respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport was the busiest during the period, with 85,367 takeoffs and landings showing an 11% fall.
More than 9.19 million passengers and 68,961 tons of cargo were handled at this airport.
Mashhad International Airport was the second busiest airport during the eight-month period with 44,186 takeoffs and landings indicating a 16% decrease. It transported more than 6.4 million passengers and 62.66 tons of cargo.
Imam Khomeini International Airport registered 35,112 takeoffs and landings also with a 16% fall, while transporting over 5.41 million passengers and 102,618 tons of cargo, ranking third on the list of Iran’s busiest airports.
Iran Airports Company is an arm of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, which manages 54 airports nationwide.
The downturn is attributed to the fact that international airlines started to wind down their businesses in Iran after the United States announced in May that it had unilaterally decided to pull out of the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers (including the US) in 2015.
The withdrawal of US from JCPOA, criticized by the international community, threw a spanner in the works of Iran's burgeoning aviation sector. International airlines that resumed their services following the nuclear deal pulled out of the Islamic Republic one by one.
British Airways ended its five weekly services to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport in August to join Air France and KLM that had previously announced their withdrawal on their respective routes from Paris CDG and Amsterdam.
