Iran Airports Company’s revenues from overflight charges have decreased by 55% since the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020, compared with the same period of the year before, according to Siavash Amirmokri, managing director of the company.
"Between 750 to 800 flights used to pass through Iran's airspace daily before the outbreak of the virus. The number has currently declined to 130," he was quoted as saying by News.mrud.ir.
The official, however, expressed optimism over the gradual return of international flights to Iran’s airspace, saying: "We expect the number to reach 400 to 450 flights each day."
Iran's aviation industry, a sector harshly hit by the spread of the new coronavirus, needs at least three years to make a comeback, in many experts' viewpoint.
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, earlier reports said.
The official noted that optimistic projections put the number of aircraft flying over Iranian airspace in 2020 at 112,000 and expected revenues to reach 10,000 billion rials ($40 million).
Amirmokri put extra emphasis on non-aviation revenues, as he believes these revenues have the potential to help prop up the sector during the ongoing stagnation.
“Statistics indicate that non-aviation revenues had a 10% share of total revenues earned by major Iranian airports in the fiscal 2019-21,” he added.
Latest statistics released by Iran Airport Company indicate a 50% year-on-year decline in the number of foreign flights using Iranian airspace during the month to Dec. 20.
A total of 12,322 foreign flights passed through Iran's airspace during the month. The figure stood at 12,068 in the previous month.
The total number of overflights reached 76,509 for the first three quarters of the current fiscal year (started March 20), indicating a 67% drop compared with the corresponding period of last year, mostly due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent suspension of airlines' operations.
42% Decline in Domestic Air Passenger Traffic
Iranian airports' domestic passenger traffic during the first three quarters of the Iranian fiscal year (March 20-Dec. 20, 2020) declined by 42% year-on-year to 18.3 million, according to the latest report published by Iran Airports Company.
Over 142,496 tons of cargos were handled during the nine months under review, which shows a 41% drop compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The IAC report also shows that airports in Iran handled 200,235 landings and takeoffs in Q1-3, posting a 25% YOY fall.
Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 6.78 million of the passenger traffic, 39% lower than the same period of last year.
Mashhad International Airport and Kish International Airport came next with 2.17 million and 1.14 million passengers, respectively.
Mehrabad handled 72,644 landings and takeoffs during the period, considerably higher than other airports in Iran.
IAC's datasets do not include figures of Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, which accounts for the largest portion of international flights operated to/from Iran.
As per the data, close to 1.72 million passengers were transported domestically during the ninth months of the current fiscal year (Nov. 21-Dec. 20, 2020), indicating a 51% year-on-year drop.
Mehrabad International Airport topped the list of Iranian airports in terms of domestic flights during the one-month period. The airport handled 35% of landings and takeoffs and accounted for 35.8% and 32.9% of total domestic air passenger traffic and cargo transportation.
Landings and takeoffs decreased by 20% to 23,710 during the ninth month of the year. Cargo transportation also experienced a 40% decline to 15,398 tons, IAC data show.
The report also includes data on the cancelation of Iranian airliners' flights. As per the report, 48% of Iranian airliners' planned flights were canceled during the month to Dec. 20.
Sepehran Airlines topped the list, with its cancelation rate standing at 74% during the month under review. It was followed by Mahan Air, with 67%, Zagros Airlines with 60%, Taban Airlines with 59% and ATA Airlines with 57% cancelation.
Meraj Airlines, Kish Air and Iran Air recorded the best performance in this regard, as their cancellation rate stood at 24%, 25% and 34%, respectively.
Hardest-Hit by Pandemic
Air travel and tourism have been the hardest-hit industries in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the impact of the coronavirus and multiple government travel reactions sweep throughout the world, many airlines have already been driven into technical bankruptcy, or are at least substantially in breach of debt covenants.
Iranian aviation officials believe that the sector needs at least three years to make a comeback.
“Twenty-nine air transportation companies have applied for more than 25.53 trillion rials [$111 million] in loans; of whom 10 have received loans worth 17.5 trillion rials [$76 million] thus far,” Mohsen Sadeqi, an official with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, said in December.
Hundreds of thousands of aviation jobs are at risk without more state aid, a global industry body has warned.
The International Air Transport Association has downgraded its 2020 traffic forecasts, after "a dismal end to the summer travel season".
The association, which represents 290 airlines, said it expects traffic to be 66% below the level it was in 2019.
IATA also estimates that it will be at least 2024 before air traffic reaches pre-pandemic levels.
The travel industry saw a precipitous drop in business after the coronavirus developed into a pandemic.
Throughout the year, major airlines, airports and tour firms have collectively announced thousands of job losses.
"Absent additional government relief measures and a reopening of borders, hundreds of thousands of airline jobs will disappear," IATA chief executive, Alexandre de Juniac, was quoted as saying by BBC.
He called for Covid-19 tests to be routinely carried out on passengers before flights depart, to increase consumer confidence in air travel and make governments more willing to open borders.
Virgin Atlantic announced it was cutting 1,150 more jobs, on top of 3,500 jobs it had already cut earlier last year.
The move, it said, was necessary for its survival, and was part of a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) rescue plan to secure its future for at least 18 months.
In August, the world's biggest airline American Airlines said it would cut 19,000 jobs in October when a government wage support scheme comes to an end. The jobs being cut make up 30% of its pre-pandemic workforce.
And earlier in 2020, the United Airlines said as many as 36,000 jobs were at risk. Germany's Lufthansa warned it could cut 22,000 positions and British Airways said it was slashing up to 13,000 jobs.
