Iranian airports' domestic passenger traffic declined by 41% year-on-year to 22.75 million during the first 11 months of last fiscal year (March 20, 2020-Feb. 19).
Latest data published by Iran Airports Company indicate a 32% decline in domestic flights, compared with the same period of the year before.
Over 182,243 tons of cargos were handled during the 11 months under review, which show a 38% drop compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The IAC report also shows that airports in Iran handled 254,710 landings and takeoffs in the 11-month period, posting a 22% YOY fall.
Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 8.36 million of the passenger traffic, 39% lower than the same period of last year.
Mashhad International Airport and Kish International Airport came next with 2.67 million and 2 million passengers, respectively.
Mehrabad handled 91,764 landings and takeoffs during the period, considerably higher than other Iranian airports. Mashhad International Airport followed with 24,479 landings and takeoffs.
IAC's data do not include figures on Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, which account for the largest portion of international flights operated to/from Iran.
Kish Island-Tehran was the busiest air route in Iran during the month to Feb. 19.
As per the figures, airlines operated 669 flights from Kish Island to Tehran during the month, transferring 72,053 passengers from the island to the capital city. During the same month, 69,336 passengers were transferred from Tehran to Kish Island by 669 direct flights to put the route on top of most congested air routes during the 11th month of the year.
Tehran-Mashhad flights ranked second in terms of monthly flights, followed by Tehran-Ahvaz and Tehran-Shiraz.
As per the figures, close to 2.35 million passengers were transported domestically during the 11th month of the current fiscal year (Jan. 20-Feb. 19), indicating a 38% year-on-year drop.
Mehrabad International Airport topped the list of Iranian airports in terms of domestic flights during the one-month period by handling 34.24% of landings and takeoffs.
Landings and takeoffs collectively decreased by 9% to 28,298 during the 11th month of the year. Cargo transportation also experienced a 21% decline to 20,870 tons, IAC’s data show.
The numbers, however, show signs of hope for the sector, compared with the month before. Airports in Iran hosted 2.351 million passengers in domestic flights during the 11th month of the year, which is 12% higher than the month before. Landings and takeoffs also increased by 8% and 10% respectively.
The report also includes data on the cancellation of domestic flights. About 38% of Iranian airliners' planned flights were canceled during the month under review. The cancellation rate was 45% during the previous month.
Mahan Air topped the list, with a cancelation rate of 59% during the month under review. It was followed by Taban Airlines, with 52%, ATA Airlines with 42% and Sepehran Airlines with 39%.
Meraj Airlines, Kish Air and Iran Air recorded the best performance in this regard, as their cancellation rate stood at 23%, 28% and 31%, respectively.
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 restrictions sweep throughout the world, many airlines have already been driven into technical bankruptcy, or are substantially in breach of debt covenants.
Iranian aviation officials believe that the sector needs at least three years to make a comeback.
“The decline in global demand for air travels have also made a negative impact on Iranian airports' revenues. Revenues from air passenger traffic and aircraft flying over Iran’s airspace have decreased by 80% since the coronavirus outbreak,” says Siavash Amirmokri, managing director of Iran Airports Company.
Iran Airport Company has recently installed a comprehensive retail platform in 11 airports across the country, in an attempt to supervise the operations of duty-free shops and contractors.
"Unfortunately, some retailers have failed to settle their debts to airports in recent years ... The new platform helps enhance the transparency of contracts and allows airport officials to receive debts from contractors," he said.
Iran Airports Company hopes to recover about 50% of the delayed debts by March 2021, using the newly-installed platform.
