According to Siavash Amir-Mokri, the head of Iran Airports Company, Lamerd Airport, located in the southern Fars Province, registered 194 landings and takeoffs, indicating an increase of 142.5% year-on-year. The airport transported 7,930 passengers and 54 tons of cargo during the six months to register a 149.84% and 201.83% YOY rise respectively.
Zanjan Airport registered 92 landings and takeoffs during the period, up by 187.5% YOY, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development's news service reported.
“The airport saw a threefold growth in passenger transport and a 72% increase in cargo transport,” Amir-Mokri said, without specifying the corresponding figures, according to Financial Tribune.
Bojnurd International Airport registered 90 landings and takeoffs during the period, up 28.57% YOY.
Yasuj Airport registered 92 landings and takeoffs to register an increase of 91.67% YOY while the airport transported 5,317 passengers, up by 181.03% YOY.
Ramsar Airport registered a YOY growth of 30.49% in landings and takeoffs to 428, followed by Abadan Airport with a 24% YOY rise, Rafsanjan Airport with a 10% YOY rise, Ilam Airport with a 9% YOY rise and Bam Airport with a 6% YOY rise.
As for passenger transport, Lamerd Airport, Zanjan Airport and Yasuj Airport registered the highest YOY rise among the nine airports under review, followed by Bojnurd International Airport (69%), Ramsar Airport (57%), Abadan (42%), Ilam and Bam airports (12%) and Rafsanjan Airport (2%).
The highest growth in cargo transport among the nine airports was registered for Yasuj Airport and Lamerd Airport with 100%, followed by Zanjan Airport (72%), Bojnurd International Airport and Ramsar Airport (54%), Abadan Airport (36%), Bam and Rafsanjan airports (21%), and Ilam Airport (13%).
1.2% Rise in Overall Traffic
In an earlier report, IAC said it registered 37,165 takeoffs and landings in the sixth month of the current Iranian year (Aug. 23-Sept. 22), which shows a 1.23% rise compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 4.78 million passengers and 50.086 tons of cargos were transported during the period, indicating an 8.11% and 0.97% increase respectively year-on-year, IAC's latest data published on its website show.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport was the busiest Iranian airport during the period, with 10,391 takeoffs and landings, which registered no significant change YOY.
More than 1.26 million passengers and 9,120 tons of cargo were handled at this airport, posting a YOY rise of 7% and 3% respectively.
Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport ranked ninth from among 50 leading airports of 26 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2018.
A total of 129 and 292 takeoffs and landings respectively were registered at the Mehrabad airport in 2018 to make it the ninth busiest in MENA in terms of flight operations, Iran Airports Company reported, citing France’s Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC).
With 15,170,243 travelers passing through its terminals in 2018, Mehrabad ranked 11th in terms of passenger traffic in the region.
After Mehrabad, Mashhad International Airport was the second busiest with 6,304 takeoffs and landings, indicating a 4% increase. It transported a total of 923,518 passengers and 8,749 tons of cargos, indicating a 6% rise in passenger transport and a7% decline in cargo transportation respectively year-on-year.
According to ENAC, takeoffs and landings at Mashhad International Airport stood at 63,021 to rank 27th in the MENA region in 2018.
Mashhad International Airport was ranked 18th in passenger traffic with 9,081,402.
A total of 87,333 tons of cargo were handled at the Mashhad airport.
In terms of cargo operations, the airport ranked 21st among MENA airports.
Imam Khomeini International Airport registered 4,232 takeoffs and landings to register a 4.38% fall, while transporting 761,170 passengers and over 14,710 tons of cargos to rank third on the list of Iran’s busiest airports. The figures show a 10.71% and 2.12% rise respectively YOY.
IKIA ranked 29th in MENA with 50,352 takeoffs and landings in 2018 and was placed 16th in terms of cargo operations with 145,425 tons of goods and parcels.
With the biggest share of international flights operated in Iran, the airport has been distinguished as the third fastest-growing airport in the world.
A study by Routes Online shows the airport grew in terms of passenger numbers by 48.6% during the first half of 2018 to 3.93 million, helped by Ata Airlines, following the rise in frequencies to Istanbul Ataturk.
Operated by Iran Airports Company, IKIA is located 30 kilometers southwest of Iran's capital city Tehran.
IKIA's newly-inaugurated Salaam Terminal has the capacity to transport five million passengers per year. It was officially inaugurated in July in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and Roads Minister Mohammad Eslami.
The new terminal has increased IKIA's overall capacity by 80%.
IKIA authorities have placed the construction of a third terminal at the airport on their agenda. Iranshahr Terminal’s first phase is expected to be completed within the next five years with a transportation capacity of 25 million passengers per year. The final phase has been planned for transporting 110 million passengers annually.
Iran Airports Company is an arm of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, which manages 54 airports across the country.