The number of passengers traveling to/from Iran registered an 80% decline in the fiscal 2020-21 compared to that of the previous year, according to statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
About 4.34 million passengers entered Iran, of whom 3.83 million were Iranians and only 512,000 were foreigners, registering a 79.1% year-on-year decline.
In the period under review, 4.24 million passengers left Iran, registering a 78.8% decline compared with the previous year.
In other words, the number of incoming and outgoing passengers decreased by 16.40 million and 15.762 million respectively.
The main reasons behind the significant decrease were the closure of borders due to the coronavirus pandemic and decline in the number of pilgrimage and tourist tours and trips.
Iranian passengers' main foreign destinations were Turkey and the UAE, which were replaced by domestic destinations such as Qeshm and Kish, two touristic islands of Iran.
In fact, Qeshm and Kish airports registered the highest volume of traffic among the other airports of Iran last year.
Qeshm Airport, with 2 million incoming passengers and 1.943 million outgoing passengers, was the busiest airport in terms of international flights. Nonetheless, the airport registered a 38% and 39% decline in the number of incoming and outgoing passengers respectively, YOY.
It was followed by Kish airport with 1.34 million incoming passengers and 1.29 million outgoing passengers, registering a 26% and 28% decline compared with the year before.
Imam Khomeini International Airport also faced a significant decrease in incoming and outgoing passengers. The incoming passengers at this airport stood at 428,108 and the outgoing passengers reached 454,120, registering a total decrease of 87%.
Iran Airports Company’s Report on Domestic Flights
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 passenger flights.
A total of 203,239 tons of cargos were handled during the year under review, 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 last fiscal year, posting an 18% YOY fall.
Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 9.17 million of the total passenger traffic, 36% less than the same period 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 of Iran, operating 2,360 takeoffs and landings, up 33% year-on-year.
Chabahar Airport also recorded 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.
As per the figures, close to 2.293 million passengers were transported domestically during the 12th month of the previous fiscal year (Feb. 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 month, as it handled 34.24% of landings and takeoffs.
The same figure 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 followed in terms of the highest number of monthly flights, followed by Tehran-Shiraz and Tehran-Ahvaz.
As per the report, IranAir operated 2,361 domestic flights during the 12th month of the year, outperforming other airliners.
Iran Aseman Airlines came next 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 flight rate. 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 cancellation 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% cancelation.
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 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 at least substantially in breach of debt agreements.
Even though figures indicate a slight recovery in the market in the last month of the year, Iranian aviation officials believe that the sector needs at least three years to make a comeback.
Statistics released by Iran Airport Company also 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.
