Iran needs 400 passenger planes by 2025

Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says the Islamic Republic needs to purchase 400 airliners by 2025 as part of efforts to meet its increasing air transportation demands.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Wednesday, Alireza Jahangirian said under the country’s 20-Year Vision Plan, which runs until March 2025, the Iranian air transportation industry needs 400 passenger planes, meaning that Iranian airlines should buy 40 aircraft a year.

The Iranian official also stated that the National Development Fund of Iran has allocated $500 million for purchasing new passenger planes, and initial agreement has been obtained for another $500 million to buy aircraft and related spare parts.

The ICAO chief also commented on meetings between officials from Iran’s flag carrier airline Iran Air and leading aircraft manufactures Boeing and Airbus.

He said the meetings are in line with the November 2013 interim deal between the Islamic Republic and the six major world powers over Tehran’s nuclear energy program, and are not confined to Iran Air and representatives of other Iranian airlines are also present in the talks.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain – plus Germany reached an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva on November 24, 2013.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities as a confidence-building measure, and the world powers undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief.

Jahangirian said Iran has received “positive signals” from Western companies including Boeing about getting new spare parts.