After months of negotiations, Boeing and Airbus have eventually started technical cooperation with Iran’s aviation sector, a senior official said on Sunday night.
The industry is now allowed to receive technical support and spare parts for its aging fleet. Since the 1979 islamic revolution in Iran, US-led sanctions have denied Iran’s access to new technology and the spare parts needed to update and maintain its fleet of mostly western aircraft.
The two giant aircraft manufacturers “are now transferring technical documents and information” to the Iranian side, according to Alireza Jahangirian, director of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization. “Boeing and Airbus will soon deliver the needed parts.” He said, “We are now facing difficulties in payment, so the delivery of parts might be delayed for some time,” he said, referring to the sanctions that have banned the transfer of money between Iranian and international banks, IRIB reported.
Lack of airplane parts has been a persistent challenge in the past 35 years for Iran’s aviation engineers and technicians. Sanctions have also limited Iranian aircraft operators from obtaining modern technology, including avionics equipment and the parts needed for the regular maintenance of their commercial aircraft.
The ongoing nuclear talks between the P5+1 and Iran have so far eased sanctions on some specific industries, which notably include civil aviation. Iran’s aviation market needs at least 30 new aircraft immediately, as estimated by Jahangirian.
