Iranian airports' domestic passenger traffic in the last fiscal year (ended March 2021) declined by 38% year-on-year, as 25.05 million passengers were transported by planes during the period, Iran Airports Company’s latest data show.
However, data for the month to March 20 indicate a 34% year-on-year growth in domestic air passenger traffic.
This is while 203,239 tons of cargos were handled during the year, which show a 34% drop compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The IAC report also shows that airports in Iran operated 283,105 landings and takeoffs during the fiscal year, posting an 18% YOY fall.
Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 9.17 million passengers, 36% fewer than the corresponding figure of the year before.
Mashhad International Airport and Kish International Airport came next with 2.97 million and 2.26 million passengers, respectively.
Mehrabad operated 101,680 landings and takeoffs during the period, considerably higher than other Iranian airports.
Ardabil Airport registered the highest growth in takeoffs and landings among major airports in Iran, operating 2,360 takeoffs and landings, up 33% year-on-year.
Chabahar Airport also managed to record considerable growth in traffic, handling 2,516 takeoffs and landings, up 16% compared with the year before.
Ardabil also topped the list of major airports in terms of growth in domestic passenger traffic with 155,758 passengers, 1% higher than the year before.
IAC's data do not include figures on Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, which accounts for the largest portion of international flights operated to/from Iran.
Monthly Statistics
As per the figures, close to 2.293 million passengers were transported domestically during the 12th month of the previous fiscal year (February 20-March 20, 2021), indicating a 34% growth compared with the same period of the year before.
Mehrabad International Airport topped the list of Iranian airports in terms of domestic flights during the one-month period. The airport handled 34.24% of landings and takeoffs.
Landings and takeoffs increased by 55% to 28,395 during the last month of the year. Cargo transportation also experienced a 40% growth to 18,948 tons, IAC’s data show.
As per the figures, airlines operated 739 flights from Mashhad to Tehran during the month to March 20, transferring 68,824 passengers from the eastern city to the capital. During the period, 70,649 passengers were also transferred from Tehran to Mashhad by 735 direct flights to put the route at the top of most congested air routes during the 10th month of the year.
Tehran-Kish Island flights topped in terms of monthly flights, followed by Tehran-Shiraz and Tehran-Ahvaz routes.
Airliners' Performance
As per the report, IranAir operated 2,361 domestic flights during the 12th month of the year, outperforming other airliners.
Iran Aseman Airlines followed with 1,996 flights during the month under review, followed by Zagros Airlines with 1,119 and Caspian Airlines with 1,093.
Saha Airlines topped the list of airlines in terms of delayed flights. Nearly 34% of Saha flights were delayed during the month to March 20, 2021. Caspian and Aseman came next with 32%.
Mahan Air registered the lowest number of flight delays to top the list of air carriers. Nearly 91% of Mahan flights were operated on time.
The report also includes data on the cancellation of Iranian airliners' flights. As per the report, 41% of Iranian airliners' planned flights were canceled during the month.
Newly-established Pars Air topped the list, with a cancelation rate of 100% during the month under review. It was followed by Mahan Air, with 62%, Taban Airlines with 55%, Sepehran Airlines with 45% and Iran Airtour with 43%.
Fly Persia, Saha Airlines and Qeshm Air recorded the best performance in this regard, as their cancellation rate stood at 23%, 23% and 28%, respectively.
Air travel and tourism were the hardest-hit sectors in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the impact of the coronavirus and multiple government travel restrictions spreads worldwide, many airlines have already been driven into technical bankruptcy, or are in breach of debt covenants.
Even though figures indicate a slight market recovery in the last month of the year (ended March 20, 2021), Iranian aviation officials believe that the sector needs at least three years to make a recovery.
Overflights
Statistics released by Iran Airport Company indicate a 50% drop in the total number of foreign flights using Iranian airspace during the month to March 20.
A total of 10,095 foreign flights passed through Iran's airspace during the month, which figure stood at 20,264 during the same period of the year before.
However, compared with the 11th month, overflights show a slight growth, as the number stood at 9,311 during the month to Feb. 19.
“The decline in global demand for air travels has had a negative impact on Iranian airports' revenues. Revenues from air passenger traffic and aircraft flying over Iranian airspace have decreased by 80% since the coronavirus outbreak,” says Siavash Amirmokri, managing director of Iran Airports Company.
Covid-19 Losses
All Iranian airlines, except for four that have yet to complete their loan reception process, have taken out a total of 25,440 billion rials ($117 million) in government loans under Covid-19 relief assistance, Mehr News Agency reported citing Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami as saying.
According to Maqsoud Asadi-Samani, secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, Iranian airlines are estimated to have suffered a total of 40 trillion rials ($184 million) in lost revenues since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to April 20, 2020.
“Since then, monthly losses worth 10 billion rials ($46,000) have been incurred by them due to flight cancellations,” he said.
