Iran eyes production of homegrown light passenger planes

Head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAA) Hossein Pourfarzaneh said on Saturday that technical teams in the country have begun the process of designing and developing two types of light passenger planes.

Pourfarzaneh said the program to manufacture light passenger planes will soon begin, with contributions from commercial partners.

“Given Iran’s vast geography and its many small airports, the country has a significant demand for short-haul flights that can use 20-seat light aircraft to connect smaller cities to the main aviation network,” he said, adding that light planes can also help meet Iran's regional flight needs.

The comments came days after Iran announced it had started test flights for its first home-made cargo plane called Simorgh.

CAA rules say that Simorgh has to carry out 100 hours of test flights in various circumstances to get a final permit to join Iran’s aviation fleet

Simorgh’s production places Iran among fewer than 20 countries in the world that have the capability to design and manufacture aircraft.

Pourfarzaneh said that Iran has nearly a century of experience in the aviation industry and can rely on its “very advanced technical, academic and industrial infrastructure” to manufacture home-grown planes.

In recent years, reports have pointed to significant progress in Iran’s aircraft manufacturing and maintenance sectors, achievements made despite international sanctions that restrict the country’s access to new aircraft and spare parts./isna