Iran to develop 27 airports, add new terminals

Iran is looking to develop 27 of 51 civilian airports with new terminal projects. It is also planning $8 billion worth of new airport construction in Araz, Qom and the Ikia regions. Five new airports are being proposed, making Iran a hot spot for airport development, according to the Iran Airports & Aviation Development Forum (IAADF).

IAADF sees a new beginning for Iran’s challenging economy.

The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), H.E. Ali Reza Jahangirian, has called for the private sector to partner in aviation development projects, underlining his resolve to attract more investors to develop the country’s aviation industries, Atwonline reported.

Additionally, the organization said Imam Khomeini International Airport has capacity for 6 million passengers annually—a new terminal due to be built in five years will increase capacity to 20 million passengers a year.

According to the CAO, Iran will need to acquire 400-500 aircraft over the coming decade to renew its aging fleet.

ATW previously reported that aircraft lessors will reap early benefits of the anticipated re-fleeting of Iran’s airlines if Western sanctions against the western Asian country are removed. Irish lessor Avolon said Iran’s in-service fleet is just over 200 aircraft, but the average age of the fleet is 26 years. According to Avolon, [aircraft] manufacturers are largely sold out for the next five years, which means at least the first stage of the re-fleeting program in Iran will fall to lessors, both in terms of new and used equipment.

For example, Iran-based Mahan Air added nine additional Airbus aircraft to its fleet in May as part of its modernization plans. The recently added aircraft are less than 10 years old and “technically excellent,” the company said, adding these include six Airbus A340-600s, one A340-300 and one A321.

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