Domestic flights operated in the fourth month of the current Iranian year (June 22-July 22) were delayed by an average of 98 minutes, data released by Iran Airports Company show.
Around 33% flights were delayed during the period: The longest average delay in flights was registered by Kish Air with 136 minutes and the shortest by Mahan Air with 53 minutes.
Technical issues are said to be the main cause of the long delays, as Iran’s aviation sector has for years been facing US sanctions that prevented it from procuring vital spare parts for repair.
Reports of technical problems and mishaps during flights have also been on the rise due to the same reasons.
According to the Association of Iranian Airlines, the country has 333 airplanes at its disposal, more than half of which are grounded, the Persian daily Shargh reported recently.
Officials and experts estimate that planes grounded at airports account for 50-70% of Iran’s total air fleet.
Hamid Ghavabesh, the former head of the Iranian Airlines Association, put the number of operating aircraft at 157.
Arman Bayat, an aviation analyst, told the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad that the number of operational aircraft was 148, such that 44-47% of Iran's commercial aircraft are operational and 60% of them have been grounded.
“Note that the operational planes are not capable of flying for a long time; many of these planes fly only twice, the total efficiency of Iranian planes is between three and four hours; sometimes they are incapable of flying after one roundtrip flight,” Ghavabesh said.
“This is while the young planes of Iran's neighboring airlines, such as the airlines of Arab countries and Turkey, are able to fly for a full day.”
The former head of the Iranian Airlines Association added that the average age of planes in the Arab countries and Turkey is five to six years whereas the average age of Iranian aircraft is estimated to be 28 years; Iran’s air fleet also feature older aircraft.
“Except for the limited number of planes purchased after the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [Iran nuclear deal], the Iranian air fleet do not have new aircraft,” he said.
Fifteen planes were purchased after JCPOA, 13 of which were small ones manufactured by ATR Aircraft. In effect, only 4.5% of Iranian aircraft are new.
Low productivity and frequent repairs of Iran’s old planes have increased the prices of air tickets; the operation of small airlines is not economically feasible, pushing some of them to the brink of bankruptcy. They are renting or selling their old aircraft to other larger airlines.
Noting that the procurement of parts is very expensive, Ghavabesh said, “Purchasing aircraft parts under sanctions at times imposes a 30% higher cost on airlines. In the meantime, some aircraft part dealers take advantage of sanctions and sell substandard parts to Iranian airlines, which raises the risks of air transportation in the country.”
Expensive air tickets have made headlines many times. Domestic airfares at times cost half the minimum wage of Iranian workers. In addition to expensive tickets and shortage of planes during the peak season, most Iranian airlines have now eliminated passenger catering services to save on costs.
According to Hormatollah Rafiei, the head of Travel Agents Guild Association, it is illegal for Iranian airlines to eliminate catering services but flights operated by foreign airlines have also ended catering services; these flights are cheap and economical and passengers know from the beginning that the costs of catering have been deducted from the ticket price.
“This is while all Iranian airlines, without exception, receive catering fees from passengers, which is included in the price of ticket but they avoid giving catering services under the pretext of Covid-19,” he said.
Rafiei noted that the poor economic situation has reduced the travel rate of Iranians by 50% this year compared to pre-Covid years; Iranian airlines have been forced to restrict their flights on some foreign and domestic routes, including Ahvaz and Shiraz.
The decline in passenger purchasing power, along with the high maintenance costs of air fleet and its low productivity, has now put the Iranian aviation industry on a loss-making path.
Air Passenger Traffic Rises as Flights Decline
The new Iran Airports Company data also show that during the month to July 22, a total of 2.68 million passengers were transported by Iranian airlines on domestic routes to register a 17% year-on-year rise.
Takeoffs and landings posted a 18% decline to 23,392. Over 21.83 million tons of cargos were handled during the period, 26% more than the previous year's 17.39 million tons.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 953,772 of the total number of passengers, 12% higher than in the same period of last year.
Mashhad International Airport and Shiraz International Airport followed with 575,618 and 159,804 passengers, respectively.
Mehrabad handled 8,415 landings and takeoffs during the period, considerably higher than those of other Iranian airports.
Iranian airlines operated a total of 944 flights from Tehran to Mashhad during the month ending July 22, transporting 116,133 passengers. The Tehran-Shiraz route topped the list of air routes with the highest passenger traffic.
A total of 127,746 passengers were flown from Mashhad to Tehran during the month under review via 938 direct flights.
Mashhad-Tehran route came next with the highest number of monthly flights, followed by Shiraz-Tehran and Tehran-Ahvaz operations.
Four-Month Perspective
Passenger traffic in Iranian airports registered a year-on-year rise of 34% in the current fiscal year’s first four months (March 21-July 22), as 10.83 million passengers were flown internally by Iranian airlines.
This is while the number of takeoffs and landings posted an 8% year-on-year fall during the period to 95,715.
The significant rise in passengers, despite the decline in flights, is because restrictions related to Covid-19 were eased after airlines had been enforcing social distancing to fend off the pandemic for over two years.
Over 90.96 million tons of cargo were shipped in the period, marking a 41% year-on-year rise.
Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 4.09 million of the total number of passengers, 31% more than in the corresponding period of last year.
Mashhad International Airport and Shiraz International Airport followed with 2.09 million and 740,590 passengers respectively.
Mehrabad handled 35,853 landings and takeoffs during the period, considerably higher than other Iranian airports.
The above figures pertain to domestic flights only, as IAC does not report on international traffic.
All international flights in Tehran are served by IKIA and all domestic flights by Mehrabad.
