TEHRAN – Iran will purchase 400 passenger planes in the next 10 years if the sanctions on its aviation fleet are lifted thoroughly, local media reports on Friday.
The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation, Alireza Jahangirian told newsmen in Tehran.
“Under the country’s 20-Year Vision Plan, which runs until March 2025, the Iranian air transportation industry will need 400 passenger planes, meaning that Iranian airlines should buy 40 aircraft a year.
“The National Development Fund of Iran has allocated 500 million dollars for purchasing new passenger planes and another 500 million dollars to buy spare parts,’’ Jahangirian said.
Following an interim nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, Boeing Co. and General Electric Co. have obtained licence by the U.S. Treasury Department to export spare parts to Iran.
Jahangirian referred to the licence as a “positive signal’’ from the U.S., which would enable the country to renew its aged fleet.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran after the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979, banning the international air industries from selling passenger planes and spare parts to Tehran.
Report says out of Iran’s 250 commercial planes, some 100 are not operating due to the lack of spare parts. (Xinhua/NAN)