Iran Receives Four ATR Passenger Aircraft

The ATR company delivered four mid-range passenger aircraft to Iran.

The ATR aircraft manufacturing company published images on Tuesday, May 16, showing the formal delivery of these four aircraft to Iranian authorities in Toulouse, France, and stated that Giovanini Trampalloreo, director of the company, and Farhad Parvaresh, CEO of Iran Air, expressed satisfaction with the arrival of the aircraft delivery time.

The aircraft delivered to Iran by this Italian-French company are ATR 72-600 type. The IRNA news agency reported that these four aircraft will enter Iran on Wednesday.

Following the nuclear agreement and the implementation of the JCPOA, Iran received permission from the United States government to purchase passenger aircraft and successfully signed contracts to purchase 100 Airbus aircraft, 80 Boeing aircraft, and 20 ATR aircraft.

So far, the Airbus company has delivered three aircraft to Iran.

ATR mid-range aircraft have a capacity of 72 passengers. These aircraft with turboprop engines are suitable for Iran’s short-range routes and low-traffic airports.

Iran’s aviation industry, following more than three decades of sanctions, has faced severe fleet obsolescence and aircraft shortages, and needs over 200 new passenger aircraft to modernize its fleet. Therefore, obtaining permission to purchase new aircraft was among Iran’s demands in nuclear negotiations. Following the implementation of the JCPOA and the lifting of sanctions, authorization for aircraft sales to Iran was issued on a case-by-case basis by Barack Obama and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In recent months, some members of the U.S. Congress have called for the Trump administration’s intervention and prevention of Boeing aircraft sales to Iran. They claim that the Islamic Republic of Iran, under the guise of using passenger aircraft, is sending weapons and equipment to its allies in the region, including Assad and terrorist groups such as Hamas.

Source: Voice of America