Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport handled 45,800 flights during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 20-Sept. 21), marking a 26% decline compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The airport's passenger traffic declined by 28% to 4.55 million people, mostly as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. The total volume of cargo transported through Mehrabad stood at 31,000 tons during the period, marking a 21% decrease year-on-year, Fars News Agency reported.
Until 2007 and before the construction of Tehran’s larger new airport (Imam Khomeini International Airport), Mehrabad was Tehran's prime airport handling both international and domestic traffic. But after 2007, international flights were transferred to IKIA.
All international flights in Tehran are currently served by Imam Khomeini International Airport and all domestic flights are served by Mehrabad.
“Iran's aviation industry, which was harshly hit by the spread of the new coronavirus, needs at least three years to make a comeback,” says Siavash Amirmokri, managing director of Iran Airports Company,
“Revenues from overflights account for nearly 68% of Iran Airports Company's annual income. Overflight is where we suffered the most during the pandemic.”
Iran Airports Company’s revenues from overflight charges decreased by 46% or $69 million in the first half of 2020 compared with the same period of 2019.
Optimistic projections put the number of aircraft flying over Iranian airspace in 2020 at 112,000 and expect revenues to reach 10,000 billion rials (around $36 million), aviation officials were quoted as saying earlier this month.
Air travel and tourism have been the hardest-hit industries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, domestic flights are carried out at some airports in the country, but aircraft fly 40-50% short of full capacity to allow social distancing.
Latest statistics released by Iran Airports Company indicate a 23% growth in the total number of foreign flights using Iranian airspace during the month to Sept. 21.
