Iran Files Complaint Against US to ICAO Over Grounded Air Fleet

Iran has filed a complaint against the US to the International Civil Aviation Organization about the grounded fleet of ATR passenger aircraft Tehran purchased following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2016. 
Ten such planes have been grounded due to lack of parts, in turn because the US prevents it.
Mohammed Mohammadi-Bakhsh, the head of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, said on Wednesday that the US measures are in violation of the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization, IRNA reported.
Fifteen planes were purchased after the implementation of JCPOA, 13 of which were small ones manufactured by ATR Aircraft. 
According to Mohammadi-Bakhsh, the Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer failed to live up to its commitment after selling the ATR planes to Iran.
“They even failed to provide us with technical publications and maintenance manuals, let alone parts,” he noted.
Iran was also delivered two Airbus after the JCPOA revival: one A321, and two A330s.
Iran needs 550 passenger planes in its air fleet in order to be able to adequately supply demand in the market, Mohammadi-Bakhsh said in a recent meeting of government officials about the state of the country’s air transportation.
“A full-blown war is being waged by world powers against the Islamic Republic in the aviation industry. We are pursuing our goals in four areas of manufacturing, repair and buying second-hand in addition to brand new aircraft,” he was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying.
In an interview with IRIB News, Mohammadi-Bakhsh, who doubles as deputy roads minister, said currently there are 175 operational planes in Iran’s air fleet.
“We have a total of 335 planes, 175 of which are operational and the rest have been grounded,” he said, adding that 11 of the 175 operational planes are used to transport cargo only.
Iran’s aviation sector has for years been facing US sanctions that prevented it from procuring vital spare parts for repair, leaving many planes grounded and causing technical problems every now and then that result in incidents.
Hamid Ghavabesh, the former head of Iranian Airlines Association has told Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad that even the operational planes in Iran have their own limitations when it comes to flying.
“Note that 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,” he has been quoted as saying. 
“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 noted 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; some older aircraft are also among Iran’s air fleet.
“Except for the limited number of planes purchased after the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [Iran nuclear deal], there is no new aircraft in the Iranian air fleet,” he added.
Mohammadi-Bakhsh pointed out that no aircraft is sent abroad for repair purposes and that all the work is undertaken by local engineers.
“We are facing a severe shortage of expert manpower for repair, maintenance, design and manufacturing.”
The government of President Ebrahim Raisi has sought to meet the increasing demand for air travel by pursuing three strategies: buying secondhand airplanes, overhauling the grounded fleet and airplane manufacturing.