There are 40 out-of-service planes parked in Mehrabad International Airport, which will be discarded as per a decree issued by Roads and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi, says the airport’s director general Ali Rostami. “These airplanes’ spare parts have been reclaimed and used in other planes. They are by no means airworthy,” he was quoted as saying by Transport Ministry’s news portal. By scrapping the grounded planes, the ministry aims to resolve the problem of parking space at the airport, which has room for 40-42 planes, but currently accommodates up to 47 aircraft. “Mehrabad needs parking space for 75 planes within the next five years in view of the growing demand,” he said. Iran has been planning to rejuvenate its aging air fleet following the removal of western sanctions on its economy in mid-January. The country has already signed a deal to purchase 118 passenger planes from French planemaker Airbus. Mehrabad, located in western Tehran, is currently the busiest airport in Iran in terms of passenger traffic, aircraft movement and freight transit, even though it is used for domestic flights only. The airport handled more than 13.5 million passengers in 2015, according to figures published by Iran Airports Company.
