Due to sanctions, the state airline does not get spare parts. And so Iran Air can only use a few planes. That’s how it is with all Iranian airlines.
The income was enough to cover running costs, says Shamsuddin Farzadipour. But it’s not enough for more, the head of Iran Air recently told the Tasnim news agency. And so the debt of the national airline has risen to 90 trillion Iranian riyals, the equivalent of 2.1 billion euros.
One reason for the misery is the Western sanctions against Iran. Original spare parts Iran does not get Air for its Airbus, ATR and Boeing aircraft. And there is apparently not enough supply on the black market either.
Many Airbus A300, A310, A319, A320, Fokker 100 and ATR 72 on the ground
Iran Air owns 42 aircraft. According to the aeronautical data provider, they fly CH Aviation due to a lack of spare parts there are currently only 17 in the air. Three ATR 72, four Airbus A300, one A310, one A319, two A320, one A321, two A330-200, one Boeing 747-200 C and two Fokker 100 are regularly in the air.
Four Airbus A300, one A310, two A319, three A320 and five Fokker 100 as well as ten ATR 72 have flat tires. There are no replacement parts for them. “Of course, our priority at the moment is not the ATRs, because they are not the answer to the problems of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Farzadipour told Tasnim. It is therefore particularly important for the national airline to get the medium- and long-haul jets afloat again.
Not only at Iran Air
Iran Air’s difficulties reflect the general problems of Iranian aviation. Last month, the Association of National Airlines confirmed that 50 percent of the country’s 333 passenger planes are grounded due to a shortage of parts – particularly engines.