IranAir Says 7 Grounded Planes to Resume Services Soon

Iran’s flag carrier IranAir says seven of its planes that have remained grounded in recent years because of US sanctions will resume services within the next six months. IranAir CEO Shamseddin Farzadipour said on Sunday that the planes will be restored to the airline’s fleet as part of a comprehensive domestic repair program.

“Our priority is domestic repair and seven planes will become airworthy in the next six months,” Farzadi was quoted as saying by ILNA news agency. He said IranAir plans to use the planes in busy travel routes to Iraq which mostly accommodates Iranian pilgrims visiting holy shrines in the Arab country.

Iran has supported a home-grown aircraft repair program in response to US sanctions that have barred the country from accessing spare parts and maintenance services by foreign companies. The program has expanded to cover planes operated by foreign companies that have suffered because of Western sanctions.

Reports in September showed that nine Russian passenger planes were in Iran to receive maintenance. Several Iranian airlines have already added repaired aircraft to their active fleet. Qeshm Air announced in February that it had restored an Airbus A320 after 11 years of grounding.

A Boeing 737 returned to the fleet of Iran’s third largest carrier Aseman Airlines later that month after a successful test flight. Aseman had earlier restored a Fokker 100 by replacing its engine. The Iranian government says it has earmarked proper funding to support domestic airlines in their efforts to restore some 100 jetliners that have remained grounded because of parts shortages as a result of US sanctions. - Press TV