Mashhad International Airport’s annual capacity is about six million passengers whereas it had handled 10.5 million passengers in the past, says Siavash Amirmokri, the head of Iran Airports Company.
“Mashhad’s Shahid Hasheminejad Airport ranks second in terms of terminal space and number of operations (takeoffs and landings) after Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, from among the 53 airports affiliated to Iran Airports Company,” he said.
“Air transport accounts for 3-5% of the total passenger turnover of all modes of transport in Iran. This proportion stands at 20% for Mashhad, thanks to the appeal of air travel to the northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan Razavi, [which is home to the shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Shia Imam]. Thus, it is vital to work out a development plan for this airport.”
The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and the provincial Governorate of Khorasan Razavi both maintain a long-term development perspective about Mashhad Airport and have underscored the potential for the construction of a new international airport in Mashhad with a capacity of 50 million passengers per year.
The official noted that location studies aimed at identifying the best position for the new airport has already begun, News.mrud.ir reported.
Among 50 leading airports of 26 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2018, Mashhad International Airport was ranked 18th busiest airport with 9,081,402 passengers, France’s Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC) reported.
Takeoffs and landings at Mashhad International Airport stood at 63,021 to rank the airport 27th in terms of flight operations. In terms of cargo operations, the airport was ranked 21st in the MENA region for handling a total of 87,333 tons of cargo.
Latest data released by Iran's Airport Company show Mashhad International Airport registered 6,304 takeoffs and landings during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), indicating a 4% increase year-on-year. It transported a total of 923,518 passengers and 8,749 tons of cargos, indicating a 6% rise in passenger transport and 7% decline in cargo transportation respectively year-on-year.
Overall, Iran Airports Company registered 37,165 takeoffs and landings during the sixth months under reveiw, which shows a 1.23% rise year-on-year.
More than 4.78 million passengers and 50.086 tons of cargos were transported during the period, indicating an 8.11% and 0.97% increase in passenger transport and cargo respectively year-on-year.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport was the busiest Iranian airport during the period, with 10,391 takeoffs and landings, registering no significant change YOY.
More than 1.26 million passengers as well as 9,120 tons of cargo were handled at this airport, posting a 7% and a 3% rise in passenger and cargo transport respectively YOY.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport ranked ninth from among 50 leading airports of 26 regional countries in 2018.
A total of 129 and 292 takeoffs and landings respectively were registered at the Mehrabad airport in 2018 to make it the ninth busiest in MENA in terms of flight operations, Iran Airports Company reported, citing ENAC.
With 15,170,243 travelers passing through its terminals in 2018, Mehrabad ranked 11th in terms of passenger traffic in the region.
Latest available data show a total of 28,184 foreign tourists and pilgrims visited Iran's holy city of Mashhad via railroad in the first three months of the current year (March 21–June 21) to register a 5% rise compared with last year’s corresponding period.
According to head of Khorasan Railway Department, Mostafa Nassiri, the visitors mainly came from Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Pakistan, India and Persian Gulf littoral states, Mehr News Agency reported.
Mashhad, known as a place of religious pilgrimage, is the second most populous city in Iran. It is located in the northeast, near cities bordering Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. It’s centered on the vast Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Imam of Twelver Shias, with golden domes and minarets.
Besides heavy traffic at Mashhad's airport, the rail route in Khorasan Razavi is also among the busiest in the country, considering the sheer number of religious tourists visiting the holy city.
Latest available data show Khorasan Railways was the busiest railroad in terms of total passenger throughput in the first six months of the last Iranian year (March 2018-19).
The number of visitors travelling by train to Mashhad saw an increase of 16% during H1 compared with the same period of last year to reach 7.45 million, said the director general of Khorasan Railways, Mohammad Hadi Ziaei-Mehr.
“The destination of up to 50% of rail travels from 28 cities across the country was Khorasan Razavi’s Mashhad during the period under review,” News.mrud.ir quoted the official as saying.
There are 12,500 kilometers of railroads in Iran, 1,500 kilometers or 12% of which are located in Khorasan Razavi Province.
