Ali Abedzade made the remarks on the sidelines of the ceremony held for receiving the second purchased Airbus which landed today at Mehrabad International Airport, according to IRNA.
“Due to lack of new aircraft in the country, some 4 million Iranian passengers take trips by foreign air lines annually,' he said.
He pointed to instructions regrading passenger planes imports, saying that today all aerial companies are required to implement Supreme Council of Civil Aviation's directives for all imported aircraft to be under 15 years old.
The A330-200 passenger plane was delivered to Iran following the implementation of the nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The aircraft can carry 238 passengers and comes with 32 business class and 206 economy seats and is used for flying long distances.
The Islamic Republic following lifting the Western-imposed sanctions, signed a contract with the European aircraft manufacturer to buy 200 new passenger planes, and to renew the country’s air fleet.
EghtesadOnline: Air fleet renewal is quite essential to show Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization’s (CAO) capability to the world, Head of CAO said.