5 Planes Added to Iran’s Civil Air Fleet: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) announced that 5 airplanes have been added to the country’s civil air fleet since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2014).
“With the new airplanes having come into service, including Airbus A320, A310 and a BAe, 850 seats have been added to the country’s civil air fleet over the past few months," Deputy Head of CAO for Flight Standard Hamid Habibi said on Wednesday.
He explained that Iran’s civil air fleet is now comprised of 251 aircraft, 143 of which are operating while 108 others are out of service.
Habibi also expressed the hope that more new airplanes would join the country’s fleet by the end of the year (March 20, 2015).
The expansion of Iran's civil aircraft fleet comes despite the US-led sanctions against the country's civil aviation industry since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
The US-imposed sanctions of 1995 ban aviation companies from selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian airlines. The US sanctions endanger the safety of civil aviation in Iran because they prevent Tehran from acquiring parts and essential support for aviation safety.
The sanctions are also contrary to article 44 of the Chicago Convention, to which the US is a signatory.
The International Civil Aviation Organization -ICAO- says aviation safety affects human lives and human rights, and stands above political differences. The organization says international public pressure must be brought on the US to lift the sanctions against Iran.
