An Iranian aviation official said the country seeks more direct flights operated by Iranian or foreign airlines from Tehran to the capital cities of European countries, including Germany, France, Russia, Italy and Turkey.
Mohammad Khodakarami, deputy head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, said on Saturday a French delegation will visit Iran soon to discuss the number of direct flights between Tehran and Paris, Tasnim News Agency reported.
He noted that three weekly flights are currently operating between the two capitals, adding that plans are underway to increase the flights to 10.
The official also said direct flights between Tehran and Moscow will gradually rise to 28 from the current seven.
On Thursday, Aegean Airlines SA, the largest Greek airline, launched regular flights between Tehran and Athens. The flights operate three days a week.
Currently, 33 foreign airlines are active in Iran, which transported three million passengers in the previous Iranian calendar year (March 2013-14).
According to CAO, security and safety of Iranian airspace are the root causes of foreign carriers’ interest in the country.
Clashes in regional countries, especially Iraq, have led flights whose destination or origin are the Persian Gulf littoral states or a number of East Asian countries, to replace their previous routes with Iran’s airspace.
In fact, many global aircraft carriers such as British Airlines and Air France have gradually changed their air routes and no longer fly over Iraq.
